Dragon Ball Z 1. Ch 01: On any given day

QUEST FOR POWER : THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 1

Hello, this is a redux of a DBZ epic I started and attempted a long long time ago. (I thing my last update was like in 2002 or 2003, definitely no later!) This little(?) story takes place right after the Cell saga.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragonball Z, or it's characters, or anything else created and licensed by Akira Toriyama and his associates. However, I do lay claim to the original characters I create in this or in any of my other works. That's all I wanted to say so I'll shut up now and let you read my QUEST FOR POWER series, starting with the WARLORD section. Reviews and criticism always welcome!

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Another day passed in the country side around Orange Star City, recently rechristened Satan City, and everything could be deemed as normal as ever. Ever since the threat of Cell had been removed, and most of his victims and his destruction somehow restored, the entire planet was at peace. Apart from those questions, the population in general wondered how long it would take for their leaders to exhaust the goodwill left from the catastrophe. After the army's debacle against the threat, and following the previous disaster against two supposed alien invaders, there was talk of creating a super-soldier force trained personally by Earth's revered champion Mr Satan. But they broke in animosity over who should be held responsible for the Cell fiasco. And then, in a great publicity coup, Orange Star City beat New York in being named after the great hero. In a matter of under three weeks, politicians were bickering again as usual.

All this could well have flown over the heads of two warriors who just mourned the sacrifice of a fellow fighter and friend in that terrible incident. They were currently meditating several dozen feet in the air a few miles from Satan City. They tucked away all thoughts about the world around them, including all the excitement around Mr Satan, and concentrated on the few things they considered important in their lives.

The sound of giggling reached Piccolo's ear and, for the first time in hours, he interrupted his meditating to look for the disturbance. Down below, two women had reached a small creak and were settling down to eat and drink. Hikers, he grumbled in his head. They were to be expected in a national park, especially one geared towards campers like this place. He didn't understand why he let his companion choose the meditation grounds, or why he chose this place... or more puzzlingly why did he accept in spite of all his instincts screaming 'people will be there'.

"Hey, can you hear me?... A bit distracted, Piccolo?" spoke Trunks, causing Piccolo to look back at him. He hadn't realized he'd been staring at the women for a few minutes.

"Don't start." Piccolo grumbled. "If you were concentrating, you wouldn't have noticed me looking away in the first place."

"Which wouldn't have changed the fact that you looked." retorted Trunks. The amusement in the Saiyan's eyes was obvious. He looked down at the women and Piccolo's gaze followed too. As far as they were, their sharp vision caught the features of the women. Both likely in their twenties, one with long brown hair, the other with short blonde hair, they could be considered 'beautiful' by human standards, thought Piccolo. And having lived with them so long, he wondered if he was acquiring their tastes... No, he corrected himself, he was just curious! He was just curious...

"Hey, I haven't known you personally for so long... I wondered since when did you show interest in women... If it's not too much to ask." Trunks said looking at the Namek. This time Piccolo didn't bother to meet his gaze and growled in annoyance.

"Funny, I wondered since when did you get to be so annoying."

"Mother... in the future... told me a lot about you. And when I first met you, I'd say that what she said was correct. But in the last few days, I think I've seen you change..."

"Whatever..."

"Hey, you think I could ever find love?"

"With your track record?" Piccolo chuckled.

"No need to mock me." Trunks replied in good humor.

"When you were mocking me moments ago?" said Piccolo. "By the way, Trunks, I'm curious what do you hope to accomplish by staying in this timeline so long." The young Saiyan sighed. None of the other fighters had thought to ask him a similar question and he hope it could've stayed that way.

"Because when I go back to my time, it'll be different from here. Everything will be..."

The pair stopped talking as a monstrous roar that had been growing louder became deafening. Piccolo and Trunks looked up to see a large blue craft not far in the distance.

"What noise. And what a weird plane, that doesn't look like a normal plane... or not even anything from Capsule Corp. Maybe it's a military experiment." Trunks asked.

"I can feel a ki in there but it's not human. I wonder what could an alien want here now." Piccolo mused frowning. He did not want to think about another invasion, but something in the back of his head nagged him that this wouldn't be good.

"Well, it's heading in the direction of West City... which reminds me, Gohan should at my mother's house soon. Want to go check that thing out and pay a visit to Gohan and my parents while we're at it?"

"So we'll have Gohan and Vegeta with us too. I'm gonna see if I can reach the others. I have a feeling this is going to be something big..."

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At Kame house, Chaozu, wearing a apron that read "Hail to the Chef!", manned the grill as he prepared to barbecue a large piece of brontosaurus meat. He whistled gently to himself, thinking about how he was lucky he didn't have to cook for Saiyans like Chichi or Bulma did, though Oolong and Kamesennin could stuff their fair share of food down their stomachs. While waiting to dine, 18, Lunch and Oolong watched as Krillin sparred with Tenshinhan. And the old man? He was on the ground sky gazing after he "accidentally" brushed up against 18's ass. That also had the distinct advantage to keep Oolong quiet...

"They've both gotten stronger." Chaozu said to Lunch.

The machine-gun-wielding blond didn't respond. She just smiled. She's been happy ever since, after the defeat of Cell three weeks, Tenshinhan invited her to stay with him and Chaozu.

Tenshinhan threw another ki ball but it missed when Krillin jumped and let the ball hit the ground. However, the dust resulting from the explosion prevented him from seeing Tenshinhan coming to him at full speed. The Triclops rammed him down to the ground.

"Aaaaack! Well, you've gotten a bit stronger." Krillin gasped. Tenshinhan gave a slight smile as he floated just above. Ever since the Cell games he was determined more than ever to not fall too far behind the Saiyans and Piccolo and be as useful as he can be in any situation. He only shared this with Chaozu.

"Well, you look like you had a bit of fun. Care for a real challenge now?" 18 smirked, taking a few steps forward.

"Ok, but don't go easy on me." Tenshinhan replied brimming with confidence.

And they launched at each other in a flurry of punches and kicks. Seeing an opening, 18 hit him in the ribs with a left, then smacked him with her backhand. Tenshinhan tried to teleport behind her but she saw it coming and, as soon he was behind her, she elbowed him in the gut before sending him flying with an uppercut. That prompted cheers from Krillin.

Tenshinhan landed on his feet but was forced on the defensive as the faster and stronger Android threw a volley of blows. Tenshinhan blocked many blows but several got through anyways and he grew more tired. A roundhouse kick got him airborne again and this time he landed with a loud thud. When he got up, Tenshinhan sported many cuts and bruises on his body.

"Hey, are you ok?" asked 18, her voice showing a twinge of remorse and sympathy. All the others save Krillin were slightly surprised, not having witnessed her cold exterior waver for even an instant.

"It's nothing I can't handle." Tenshinhan replied, not too embarrassed at having been beaten.

"That was great, Tenshinhan! You stood your ground." Chaozu chirped in his childlike voice.

"Yeah, I would've bet Kamesennin's entire lingerie collection that you couldn't last that long against 18!" echoed Oolong. Tenshinhan felt himself torn between his pride and his modesty. He managed a wide grin while looking down at his feet. That "victory" against Goku was already so long ago, he never fathomed walking into another spotlight, not even one as small as this one...

"Ah, I thought that was you." Piccolo's voice rang abruptly inside of Tenshinhan's head, causing the surprised Triclops to look up and around him.

"What the...? Piccolo, is that you?", Tenshinhan responded out loud. The others looked on in curiosity.

"Yes it is. And it's nice to see that you're stronger than ever." Piccolo spoke telepathically. "Maybe with enough training you could even as strong as a Saiyan. But anyways, this isn't supposed to be a social call. I think something big is about to happen."

"Oh, what's wrong?"

"Trunks and I saw what we thought was a spaceship and we're tracking it down. If you concentrate, you can probably sense us. We're heading in the direction of West City. If it lands near there, we can convince Vegeta to come and Gohan may be near too. But I still want as much of us there as possible, just in case."

"Alright, is there anything else I need to know."

"Actually, maybe... Dende told me something about a war out in space not too far from Earth. He didn't seem to sure about what was going on since he had only heard about it but he didn't rule out that we can get caught up in this. So I want to see if this has anything to do with it."

"Yeah, I understand what you mean. We don't want any bad surprises. I'll come right away." Tenshinhan responded. Piccolo acknowledged it and cut off the telepathic link. It wasn't until the conversation had stopped that Tenshinhan realized that the others were looking at him with curious expressions.

"Uh, why were you talking to yourself there?" Oolong asked, puzzled. "You need better friends or something?" which prompted a knock to Oolong's head by Lunch. "Owww!"

"Don't you dare talk to my Tehnshinhan like that, or else I'll make pork chops out of you!" Lunch yelled. Chaozu sweat dropped.

"Sorry guys, that was Piccolo talking to me in my head. He said that there's a spaceship that's about to land here. Him and Trunks are going to investigate and he asked that as many of us fighters come too just in case it's trouble."

"Well, I guess that makes sense given our history with invasions." Krillin joked. "Another space adventure seems overdue."

"Krillin and I will come with you." 18 said stepping forward, then she turned to Chaozu and Lunch. "You guys are probably better to stay here out of harm's way."

"What! Who made you boss and what makes you can tell me what to do, you hussy!" Lunch screamed. While everyone else sweat dropped at the hyper active blonde, Chaozu merely sighed heavily, grabbed the pepper dispenser he was using on the meat and shook it in the direction of Lunch's face "Why, I oughta kick your aaaaAAACHOO!... Oh my, I guess my split personality must've said some nasty things again, huh Chaozu?" said the docile blue-haired personality. The tiny emperor nodded.

"Krillin, 18 and I are going to check out something that's probably dangerous, so can you stay here with Chaozu and Oolong?" Tenshinhan spoke to her.

"Oh... alright but please be safe!"

The Triclops nodded. He searched briefly for the ki signatures of Trunks and Piccolo before taking to the air followed by 18 and Krillin.

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Gohan rang the doorbell at the Briefs residence. A few minutes later, he was face-to-chest with Vegeta, who was holding baby Trunks. As soon as he saw him, Vegeta was quick to dismiss him.

"What are you doing here, squirt?" The Saiyan Prince said. "Get outta here!"

"Hey! That's rude, you can't kick me out just like that." Gohan replied.

"I can well decide to keep Kakalotto's offspring out of my house."

"Funny. I'm sure Bulma would like to hear you say who this places belongs to." Gohan chided, smirking. Vegeta thought about replying then decided against it. "I'm here to see Trunks."

"You came here to babysit? Fine by me!" Vegeta said mockingly and immediately handed Gohan the baby. Trunks smiled and giggled.

"Go...go...go...!" the toddler cooed. Gohan looked puzzled.

"Uh, I meant the other Trunks. You know who I'm talking about, the one who's from the future."

"He's out training with the Namek." Vegeta replied.

"Again? Wow, it seems like he's always training with someone. First you, then last week he spent time with Tenshinhan and now Piccolo."

"He's just thriving to be the best just like his father." Vegeta replied, his eyes close to tearing with pride. Gohan rolled his eyes instead.

"Well, maybe I should train some more."

"What? You stopped training?" asked Vegeta.

"Well, without anymore threats, there's no reason to train for a while. Plus I'm gonna be going to go to school at the end of summer, mom wants me to be ready. Training may have only been a necessity before, but now I may just have to stop altogether." Gohan said lowering his head. He felt torn between listening to his mom's sensible advice and honoring his dad's memory. Didn't he just become the strongest fighter in spite of his lukewarm love for combat?

The prince of Saiyajin frowned and took a more serious tone. "Listen, squirt…"

"Stop calling me that!" Gohan yelled.

"Listen. That's fine and all but It's still important that you don't take your training and your skills for granted. You may be only 10 years old but you're the strongest here and there's always beings and forces beyond us that will to ruin it all for everybody. You may to have to stand up to the universe's fiercest warriors and be ready."

Gohan looked on in surprise saying nothing. He had never heard Vegeta being so serious and concerned.

"You get what I'm trying to say?"

"Um, I think so, yeah."

There was a moment of silence between them. Then Vegeta smirked.

"Squirt!" Vegeta said.

"Hey! You know, you're mean."

"Hehe! Yeah, I know..." Vegeta started before looking up away from Gohan. "What the...? Do you hear that?" Gohan frowned and turned to try to find the source of the deafening sound of engines that now seemed to engulf them.

"Yeah, like an airplane coming here."

They looked up and saw the underside of a large aircraft descend from the sky. As the ship landed on the vast front lawn of the Briefs' residence, they took in it's full features. It's main body was triangular and a grayish blue color, the point of it seemingly being the front. At the rear was three engine turbines. Two large windows were at the front while the side sported smaller round ones. Two wings sprouted from the sides upwards at a sharp angle. On the tip of each of them was another small engine. The craft looked large enough to hold about a dozen people.

Before they could recover from their surprise at the sudden arrival, a door opened on the side of the ship. Vegeta immediately tensed up, ready to react at any sign of hostility, while Gohan held the baby closer to him. A young man, with brown hair and a green body suit, stepped out of the ship to greet them. The new arrival went to the pair quickly and promptly dropped to his knees to bow before them.

"Greetings, I believe you to be the Saiyans Son Gohan and Vegeta? I come representing my people, the Jubians. We are at war against a warlord named Dudan and we are in terrible need of help!"

Gohan and Vegeta looked at each other puzzled. Neither of them had a clue how this strange man could know of them. They had never heard of Jubians or their world. And who was this Dudan?

END OF PART ONE


	2. Ch 02: Decisions and preparations

QUEST FOR POWER :THE WARLORD

By Konrad

PART 2

"Oh Vegetaaaaa, you ready for that bubble bath? Hey, did you feel that earthquaaaaAAAHHH! What the hell is that thing on my lawn?" Bulma screamed at the sight of the alien craft. She came out of the front door in her bathrobe, while Gohan and the alien visitor gazed at her with curiosity. Vegeta fumed at the embarassment.

"Why would you want a bubble bath, Bulma?" Gohan asked innocently.

"Quiet, brat! Woman, you're nothing but a walking embarrassment!" Vegeta yelled at the top of his lungs. This time, it was Bulma whose face got flustered with rage.

"Me? An embarrassment? What about you, you overgrown monkey! You think you can yell at people, that you're the boss because your hair gives extra height!" Their argument startled baby Trunks who started crying.

"Shhh, it's ok, Trunks." Gohan tried soothing him. "It's just your mommy and daddy fighting as usual. Hey, you two! Don't we have some more important things to talk about here?" Vegeta huffed and turned back to the alien, ignoring his mate's dagger-like glare.

"Alright, let's get this over with." The Saiyan Prince said, looking at the visitor. "You, how the hell do you know us? We never heard of you! What are you, a spy?" Gohan sighed.

"Yeah, and why do you need our help?" added the young boy.

"Hey, hold on! We're coming!" Krillin's voice rang out.

Gohan, Vegeta, Bulma and the visitor turned around to see Tenshinhan, Krillin and Android 18 approaching fast.

"Krillin!" Gohan said as they landed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Piccolo warned us about this thing and asked us to come." Krillin responded, pointing at the spaceship. "So, here we are!"

"Oh, so I guess the Namek will be coming too." sneered Vegeta, not happy to see anybody.

"The Namek's already here." Piccolo said mockingly. Everyone looked up to see Piccolo and Trunks perched comfortably on the roof.

"Hey father!" Trunks couldn't resist a light jab at Vegeta's bad humor.

"Stupid green man." Vegeta muttered under his breath as the two others slowly floated down.

"Midget." the Namek replied simply. Vegeta gritted his teeth.

"I'll get you for that one, ugly."

"Ok, well, so tell us what's going on?" Gohan spoke as everyone's attention was forced back on the visitor. "Who are you, what do you know of us and who is this Dudan you talked about earlier?" The alien took a deep breath to keep his cool in front of them since he knew their strength.

"Alright then." he started. "My name is Yoshuro from the planet Mesata. My people come from the planet Jubi but we now live on several others as well, like Mesata. We mainly spread out in three systems…"

"Mainly?" Piccolo inquired.

"Well, we Jubians are established on several other planets, mostly in the form of resorts, mining colonies and ventures. Anyhow, a few weeks ago, an army belonging to the space warlord Dudan, a planet trader, came and attacked us. They were weak so we handled them easily but our leaders worried that Dudan's main forces and possibly Dudan himself might come. And, unfortunately, our fears were confirmed when we detected Dudan's armies heading towards our space. Our intel was able to gather accurate information on Dudan and his forces. Some of his troops we'll be able to fend off but we won't have so much luck against others. And even if…IF…we survive them, which is quite unlikely, we will still have to face Dudan's Elite and maybe even the warlord himself if he decides to amuse himself at our expense. We resisted a couple more attacks but, at last report, some strong attacks are coming up and Dudan has never been defeated before. So our leaders sent me here to ask for your help because, aside from the Kosajin who can't be totally counted on, you're the most powerful people we can find."

"The…Kosajin?" Vegeta said puzzled.

"The Kosajin are…" Yoshuro started.

"Never mind." Vegeta said as he shook his head and he smirked. "You won't be needing them. You said this Dudan character is in the planet trade like my old friend Freezer? I'll gladly give him a visit to the Otherworld."

"Wow, undefeated, huh?" Piccolo thought out loud. "Sounds tough... then again, Brolly was also undefeated."

"Do you guys think it's the right idea to go there? I mean, you're putting yourselves in danger again for something completely unknown." Bulma said. She still wasn't over her fear from the Cell saga and how she had almost lost Trunks.

Gohan frowned and thought for merely a second before making up his mind. His father would've gone without a second thought, he'd always be the first to help. Besides, his mom couldn't say much. School wouldn't start for a couple of months.

"Yoshuro, how far is your home space from here?" he asked.

"About four days of flight at max speed."

"Good enough, I'm going." Gohan said. Vegeta only smirked.

"It doesn't matter if you all come, though you could all stand to learn a thing or two from me." he haughtily added. Everybody mentally huffed at once.

"Well, since Gohan AND Vegeta might need help, it'd be best to separate who goes from who stays." Piccolo said, his eyes darting briefly to look at Vegeta's scowl.

"I have every intention of going and helping my father." Trunks said, ignoring the Saiyan Prince's reddening face.

"Obviously, I'm going too." The Namek replied. "Tenshinhan?"

"Why not. I'm looking for more opportunities to get stronger."

"I'll go too." offered 18. All heads turned to her in curiosity. Gohan, Piccolo and Krillin had noticed her increased urge to integrate in the Z Senshi. Trunks frowned deeply.

"You sure honey? I mean, it does sound dangerous, you don't have to do this. Besides you're new to the whole hero thing." Krillin said half-jokingly to his girlfriend, worry painted on his face. 18 smiled at him.

"It's ok, I can take of myself." she assured.

"Yeah, as if we didn't know that." Gohan added laughing. "Don't worry, I'll watch over her, Krillin, as long as she watches over me."

"Deal!" 18 said.

"Well I won't be travelling with you guys this time, I've got too much to do here. Besides, someone wouldn't want my help." Bulma spoke mockingly, as Vegeta shook his head in defeat. This was apparently the day to mock him. "But I'll get you some supplies and equipment if you like."

"Hey, I can help a bit too even if I'm not there. If you guys wait for me, I'll go get senzu beans!" added Krillin. He blasted off in the distance.

"Your generosity is very much appreciated, all of you." beamed Yoshuro. He bowed his head in thanks.

"You heard that, Trunks?" Gohan said in the most childish manner possible. "I'm going in space! Yes I am." Baby Trunks smiled and giggled in his face.

"See, why can't you be more like that, Veggie?" Bulma mocked as she made her way back into her house.

"Don't start with me, woman!" Vegeta yelled back. "I'm not for any of that mushy stuff! And you promised us supplies. You know you better pack a planet's worth of food for three Saiyans. And something we can actually eat without being poisoned would be good for once!" He continued as he followed her inside.

While they waited for Bulma and Krillin, all the others paced around the front lawn. Yoshuro went to talk to Gohan, 18 and Tenshihan. 18 glanced to see Trunks taking Piccolo aside.

"Piccolo, I have a hard time trusting her." Trunks said in a low voice.

18 watched the two warriors. She couldn't hear a word they were saying, but she felt she was the subject of their conversation. She heard about how she ruined Trunks' future, about how she took part in the murder of the world's prime defenders, about how she destroyed cities and killed millions of people. She wasn't like that. _But if not for Cell, would I have done those things?_ She briefly thought before shaking the implications of that out of her head. _No! I'm not a monster, I wouldn't have become one and I'm going to prove it to everyone, including Trunks!_

"Trunks, I doubt you have to worry about her. She doesn't have that in her." Piccolo said.

"But…"

"Another version of her wrecked your life in your timeline but this timeline's 18 is different and she will never be like the 18 you know in your time, just like the child that Gohan is cradling will turn out to be very different from you. Besides, I used to be evil too. And Vegeta, I'm sure, won't be turning against us anytime soon. So if you can trust us, Trunks, you can certainly trust 18."

"Maybe… but I can't forget the future and what happened there…I'll try to…"

"Good."

As the two men returned to the rest of the group, Trunks was just barely able to suppress a look of suspicion and hate when his eyes met those of Android 18. He was so used to hating her; it was almost instinctive. Startled, the Android bowed her head slightly and looked away. Trunks sighed. This is going to be a long trip if he couldn't find away to repress his instincts and at least try to be nice with her.

Meanwhile, Tenshinhan talked telepathically to Chaozu and Lunch.

"Always trying to save the world as usual." Lunch said, half-smiling.

"If I don't do it, who will?" Tenshinhan replied.

"Gohan." Chaozu offered jokingly. "Or Trunks. Or Vegeta. Or maybe Pic..."

"Shut up, Chaozu!"

"Take care of yourself out there, please." Lunch pleaded one more time.

"I will. Chaozu, take care of her." Tenshinhan said solemnly before cutting off the link. He didn't want it to last too long and get too emotional.

When Krillin returned, he handed the bag of senzu to Android 18. Not long after, Bulma came back out, followed by Vegeta. She handed the Z Senshi bags and capsules containing food, clothes, and anything else she could think of that could be useful. As Gohan handed gave her back baby Trunks, Bulma took him aside.

"I talked to your mom on the phone, I didn't think it would be good not to tell her that you were flying off into space..." she began.

"Oh." Gohan groaned. Bulma smiled.

"But while she doesn't approve of you going away like that, she understands how strong you are and how it's important to help against injustice. So she's allowing you to go so long as you promise to study anytime you get the chance. To help, I'm giving you a couple of books that you can study on math and social sciences, and some study material. That way, your mom is happy and you can still go in space and kick evil butt! What do you think?" she added as she handed him a backpack. Gohan's face immediately brightened up.

"Bulma, you're the best! You can bet, I won't slack in my studies!"

* * *

Deep in the galaxy, in a small vessel, a raven-haired woman gently tapped the electronic consoles in front of her. Her name was Cerion. Normally she indulged in manipulating people and events. Today, she was bored to tears. For the past few weeks, she'd increasingly grown worried over what had been transpiring in the galaxy. _Threats, conspiracies, war. And to think for once I'm in the middle of it all instead of pulling the strings. Not really fun_, she thought.

She kept her eyes closed as she nearly drifted silently into sleep. She snapped them open when a beeping noise brought her to attention. Cerion brushed her eyes slightly and took a look at a display in front of her. It indicated a blinking dot moving away from a blue planet. Cerion narrowed her eyes.

"A Jubian ship..." she mumbled to herself. "Could it be?..."

She closed her eyes again and concentrated this time. After a few moments, she felt part of her senses and consciousness leave her body. Her astral form crossed the distance in less than a minute and her spirit found it's way into the recesses of a mind. _Did it too quickly._ _They'll probably feel a little tug in the back of their head but not enough to alarm them. Now let's see who's here_. As it happened, the person who's mind she had entered had three eyes and was in a corner of the ship with a view of all the other passengers. Satisfied, Cerion left quickly, leaving a slight blank in that person's mind. Her spirit returned to her body. She shook her head as if to rid herself of the mild discomfort the quick mental entry and exit had caused her. _No more of that for a while_. She quickly searched files and pictures on her computer and started matching them with the images of the people she 'saw' on that ship.

"Android 18..." Cerion read out loud to herself. "Piccolo... Vegeta... Trunks... the other one probably just a simple Jubian envoy... Ahh!" A wide smile etched it's way across her face as she looked up the last face she saw. "Son Gohan..."

Suddenly, a blaring sound was briefly emitted before a heavy voice resonated through a small speaker device on the console. Cerion immediately frowned.

"Cerion! We will soon proceed as planned. Everyone must be present and ready."

"Of course, Lord Dudan!" she responded. The communication ended and a smirk returned to Cerion's face.

_Well, this is more like it_.

END OF PART TWO


	3. Ch 03: Cold day in Hell

**QUEST FOR POWER :**

THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 3

It seemed as if all of HFIL would collapse under the massive energy blast. Sparkling red waves bathed the landscape as a massive explosion kept sending out shockwave after shockwave, drowning out any sound in a loud roar. Eventually, the eruption settled down and quickly after, the energy and noise subsided, the earth stopped shaking, and the waves disappeared. At the center of that 'explosion', a lone armoured figure caught itself as it collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

_Damnit!_ Cursed Cooler silently. _So close..._ His arms supported his heavy frame as he struggled to catch his breath. His latest attempt at a superior transformation had inched so titillatingly close to success but he still didn't quite make it. This time he was too exhausted to try again. For today, at least, that part of his training was done. The Kosajin finally mustered the strength to push himself off the ground.

"I hope you felt that, Goku, you hear me? That power will come to break your bones!" Cooler yelled at the top of his lungs to no one in particular. Unfortunately, he hadn't quite recovered from his exertion. His lungs felt like they burnt like fire when he screamed, causing him to go down on one knee clutching his chest. His world briefly pulled it's illusions from his eyes.

What would be the use? What's the use of fighting a man who was as dead as him? His thoughts veered wildly as the pain seemed to drug his mind. _What would mother have thought if she saw what I had become? What example have I set for Aurora?_ His mind raced inexplicably to him. Could he feel guilty at the life he lived? _No... no!_ Cooler thought as his merciless training and indoctrination regained control of his emotions once more. With a loud growl, he got back on his feet, his breathing more at ease. _You are the strong, Cooler. The strong live to feed on the bones of the weak. No feeling must come, mercy is not something the weak deserve. To dominate is to survive. _He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He revisited in his mind all the challenges he met and surpassed. Since death was a mere continuation of life as he now knows, he'll continue on this path and meet the challenge to become the strongest ever.

"Cooler, so there you are. I thought that power I saw from the distance might've been you." A voice called out from behind him.

Cooler just barely repressed a grimace creeping into his face before turning to look at Dr Gero. He didn't like the man anymore than he liked his brother, which was to say not a lot. He felt contempt towards them, as well as towards his father and most other beings he met in Hell. He thought he'd go crazy around them all. _Always plotting as if they were created just for that, can't live for anything better_, he thought. _Still, I am curious to know what this lunatic has in his head this time._

"Dr Gero, what's brings you here?" asked Cooler.

"Well, I think I've finally got a plan that even you'd find interesting." the doctor began. Cooler sighed mentally as Gero was promising another seemingly vague plot.

"Gero..."

"Now hold on, I've found some very interesting stuff." Cooler rolled his eyes but, relenting silently, he crossed his arms. "Now then, I've thought about something lately, about getting some sort of power source to help us to conquer. Well, I think I know such a source!" Cooler raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I remember you mentioning something. The idea seemed obvious enough, I'm surprised we never thought about that before."

"Yes, well I did some research and I stumbled upon information about something called the Power Stone. There is a small number of this artefact. Apparently any one of them could give the user a significant power boost, enough to crush almost any opponent. Imagine what one of us could do with it! Why, it could even assure certain victory against Goku and his ilk." The old man's eyes narrowed slightly as he articulated that last sentence, his moustache barely dissimulating a smirk. He knew Cooler wanted nothing more and nothing less than an excuse to defeat Goku, even though they were both dead. Cooler frowned.

"Power Stones? What are those?"

"Shouldn't the name make it obvious? Well, they are a set of mystical gems, five to be precise. Apparently they were created as weapons in a war long ago. Somehow they were imbued with stellar energy. Yes, the power of stars was locked inside specially created stones! Fascinating, don't you think? Anyways, this energy can be harnessed into individuals to make them temporarily stronger. No one knows how to unlock this power until now." Gero explained.

"...Until now?"

"I'm working on a device that can absorb power sources if they are within reach, a modified version of the energy absorbers in my hands if you will. It'll work on the same principle but it'll much more powerful and it can customized to match any source. With it, you can absorb the energy in one of these Power Stones or you can even absorb other warriors! I plan on giving a version of it to King Cold, Freezer and Cell as well as yourself, that is if you're interested. If one of us can absorb a Power Stone, together as a group we'll be invincible and can rule both the living universe and the Otherworld! What do you say, Kosajin? Sounds interesting?"

"I see... Well, I'm no longer concerned with ruling anything anymore so you don't have to worry about sharing with me. However, I do intend on crushing Goku and he'll get in your way regardless... Tell the others I'll join your cause and I'll take one of your devices when it's ready. Just be clear that the Saiyan is mine alone!" Cooler responded. Gero grinned widely, content to have the support, even conditional one, of one of the most powerful beings in HFIL.

"Good enough for me! I'll go formulate the details of a strategy." With that, Dr Gero took off as Cooler looked on.

_What a disgusting fool!_ Cooler thought as he watched him leave. _Disgusting fools, all of them... But I am like them, no?_ The weight of his actions felt like a mountain upon for a moment and he shook his head. He immediately looked into the distance again and a scowl crept back into his face.

"At least I'll have an excuse to challenge Goku. And this time, I will win..." he said aloud.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Far away, in the outer reaches of the galaxy, a conquering force has made a plan for universal domination. Bent on promoting evil, crushing good and justice, and assuring the prevalence of their lord's will, soldiers from everywhere have assembled into the greatest army ever known. Some of the universe's strongest beings have banded together to destroy all those who oppose them. However, one group of warriors is determined to stop these wrongdoers at all costs. These defenders of justice and light are…Trunks, the great hero from the future…"

Hearing his name, Trunks lifted his head before taking back a pensive posture he was holding while sitting next to a window.

"…Tenshinhan, the three-eyed powerhouse…"

Tenshinhan momentarily looked up from his cards before concentrating again on his hand.

"…the beautiful Android 18…"

18 couldn't help but smile slightly.

"…the fierce and noble Namek Piccolo,…"

Piccolo paid no heed to Gohan.

"…and Vegeta, the cocky bastard."

The Saiyan prince abruptly turned his head towards Gohan. "You insolent little brat, shut up already with your stupid narration!"

But Gohan ignored him and continued nonetheless and he wrote down his narrative in the manuscript he was working on. "Together, they form the amazing Z Squad. And they are led by the great Gohan…"

"Don't you think you're over-dramatizing a bit, Gohan?" 18 mocked nicely. Gohan laughed.

"Yeah, just trying to make my book interesting and fun. It never hurts to spice things up." They both laughed. 18 thought she finally found a friend she could trust, besides Krillin, in her former enemies.

Inside Yoshuro's spaceship, Gohan was busy writing down their adventure as 18 looked on. Trunks sat next to a window, lost in his thoughts. While Vegeta practised punches on the main floor, Tenshinhan tutored Piccolo and Yoshuro at playing craps.

"Two!" Yoshuro yelled out enthusiastically as he rolled a pair of ones. "Oh, I mean Snake Eyes!... That's good, right?" Tenshinhan chuckled.

"Actually, that means you lose this turn." the Triclops explained. That briefly brought down the Jubian's jubilations.

"Oh... Bah, another roll!"

"I don't understand where you found the time to learn this stupid game." Piccolo stated.

"Would it surprise you to know that Lunch's second personality is into gambling? As a matter of fact, you don't want to know what she's learned on her last trip to Las Vegas. And it doesn't involve just cards!" Tenshinhan smirked, causing blood to rush to Piccolo's ears.

"Remind me to never fall in love with a crazy woman." Piccolo muttered in disgust.

It's been almost three days since they left Earth and they still had a few hours before entering Jubian space. Uneventful ness had seeped itself in.

"Oh great! This is boring." 18 sighed finally, shaking her head. In doing so, she caught a glimpse of Trunks. "Oh never mind, I think I'll go talk to Trunks for a change." she continued. Gohan watched, curious to see how this would turn out.

Trunks spotted 18 approaching from the corner of his eye and made a move to leave. That sent a wave of rage boiling inside the Android's body. For the umpteenth time since the beginning of this trip, he had ignored her and this grated on her nerves.

"Hey, wait up! Don't leave!" 18 yelled. The young Saiyan reluctantly stayed put as the Android came in front of him.

"What's wrong with you, Trunks?" she started. Trunks looked away with a frown passing over his face. "Am I that bad in your time?"

"Yes! Yes!" came the reply as this time it was Trunks who snapped. "You're the cause of millions of deaths. You're the nightmare of my time, and every time I see your face, I'm reminded of everything that happened because of you!"

"Because of me! I'm not like the me…or whatever you encountered in your time! I'm a different person! Even when I was fighting you guys, I never thought of hurting innocent people, that's not me!"

Her voice echoed through the ship. Everyone, including Vegeta, stopped their activities to stare. Gohan got up and took a step towards the pair, bent on bringing this heated discussion on a better note. However, his eyes fell on Piccolo's own, silently telling him not to intervene. Reluctantly, Gohan stayed put and watched the mini-drama unfolding. 18's hands trembled slightly as she fought back the burning sensation in her eyes.

"I don't know what some…evil twin of me is going to do." she continued at the top of her lungs. "I can't take responsibility for what a copy of me does. If I'm to be a mass murderer in the future, then I want to die here and now. But at least, don't replace my own hands with someone else's blood stained hands, please, even if they talk like me, look like me... I'm not that person." By that time, her voice had grown more resigned, softer. Trunks, shocked into muteness, could only take her tirade. "I really you to trust me, Trunks. I want to find a way to do that…"

The tears couldn't be contained anymore and they finally began flowing from 18's eyes. Cursing her inability to stop them, she got up and left abruptly, leaving a stunned and shamed Saiyan in her wake. 18 made her way to the sleeping quarters of the ship. There, a small number of bunk beds were disposed comfortably against the walls. She climbed into one and, pulling her knees to her face, she started to cry freely. _I'm not a cold-blooded murderer, I'd never kill innocents, I'd never_, she repeated in her head.

18 was sitting there for several minutes already when she heard the door to the room open. Looking up through her blurry eyesight she was barely able to make out the familiar lavender colour.

"If the others asked you to find me, I..."

"They didn't." Trunks cut her off. "None of them told me to come, I'm here because I want to... It's unfair to treat you like this, you haven't done to deserve my hate, you're not her... I'm really sorry. I don't know what else to say."

"It's ok, I understand what a nightmare your world must be and how you can see something horrible in me."

"That's no excuse for my behavior. You've done nothing wrong. I admit it's not easy when I think everything that's happening in my world but I haven't given you a chance and I'm sorry."

"T-thank you." 18 replied as she wiped her eyes. Trunks took a seat in front her.

"Well, you did kick my butt when you first appeared so maybe I should be mad for that or something." Trunks tried to joke. He felt better when 18 giggled in response. A knock was heard on the door and the two turned to see Gohan cautiously enter the room.

"Man, am I glad you guys haven't ripped each other into shreds yet." He said smiling, as he joined them.

The next couple of hours rolled by slowly and quietly in the ship until an alarm went off, prompting everyone to rush to the front of the spacecraft.

"What's wrong?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Let's find out." Yoshuro replied as he rushed to the front of the ship. "It's an emergency message from planet…Hakiri!"

The communication device lit up and a robotic voice spoke up. "This is an emergency broadcast transmission from planet Hakiri, do you accept?"

"Of course I accept, you stupid piece of scrap!" Yoshuro yelled. A face appeared on the screen of the communication device.

"Calling out to all Jubian ships in the area, this is lieutenant Guri from planet Hakiri! This an emergency! A ennemy fleet has been detected and it's heading straight for our planet, E.T.A. in no more than an hour! We need any assistance immediately!"

"Lieutenant, this is Yoshuro Arro! I'm coming with help, please hold on!"

"Thank you, we will hold as long as we can!" Yoshuro cut off the link.

"It'll be close but we will probably be there at about the same time as the enemy, if not shortly after."

"Let's hope not too many people get hurt before we arrive." Trunks added.

"So we're finally going to have some action." Vegeta grinned.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The huge ship that landed on Hakiri emptied itself quickly as about thirty armed mercenaries stormed out.

"Well, it's time we find out what these weaklings are up to." spoke Aleen, a black-haired woman from the group. Along with four other members of the group, she wore a white star on her chest. All the others, except for one, bore no such medal. The last person, a leader with a bald conical head, had a red star.

"Indeed, Aleen." spoke the leader, Dukai. "That research base should be due west from here."

"Let's not spend too much time here." added a weary Djoukien, a younger, white-starred squad member. A somewhat frail looking young man, Djoukien nonetheless had the luck to be so skilled and strong that he earned promotions faster than any one else who served in the planet trade. He tried to avoid wanton destruction as much as he could though he loved to fight more than anything else. However that wasn't the only thing on his mind. For one of the rare times in his career, he felt extremely apprehensive. His brown tail tightened instinctively around his waist.

"Hehehe, you're always so soft." responded the sub commander Toono, a towering purple skinned creature. "Why not have a little fun here, kid? I'm sure there's plenty of fighters for us to play with."

"Speaking of fighters…" spoke up Aleen as she fiddled with her Scouter. "I'm picking up exactly forty five power readings coming from the main base and heading this way."

"Ahh, the welcoming committee!" said Dukaï, smirking. "Let's go introduce ourselves to our hosts. After all, that is the polite thing to do." Djoukien rolled his eyes and concentrated on the task at hand. Apparently, he wasn't going to get away from this fight without getting a fair deal of blood on his hands.

The soldiers flew off and promptly met the Jubian military in midair. Although they had the advantage in numbers, the Jubians knew they were outmatched in strength and weaponry.

"All right, everyone remember your training, we can hold them off if you just keep together!" screamed the Jubian commander to his troops. That brought a roaring laughter from Dukai

"What a joke! We are the strongest legion in the army of Lord Dudan. You don't honestly believe you can defeat us, do you? Toono, Cole, Baramon, I'll let you guys handle this one." ordered Dukai to three of his sub commanders. Their groups launched themselves into combat while Aleen and Djoukien, along with their teams, stayed back.

Dukai grinned with satisfaction as he watched Baramon behead a Jubian with a single blow. Cole, meanwhile, easily avoided a blast meant for him and countered by ramming the soldier who tried to shoot him. The Jubian was sent flying back uncontrollably, knocking out three of his comrades in the process. As the Jubian landed painfully on his back, Cole jumped on his abdomen, making his enemy vomit blood. Toono barreled through and went straight for the leader of the Jubians. He launched a flurry of punches and kicks, giving the overwhelmed officer trouble. Toono paused a moment to laugh at him, then he sent an energy beam aiming for his chest. The Jubian barely avoided the shot but it still burned his shoulder. He avoided receiving Toono's knee to his guy, but the giant Toono caught him in his back with an elbow. Grabbing him by the neck, he then repeatedly punched the helpless Jubian before dropping his body to the ground. Meanwhile, all the other Jubians were also losing badly. They were more numerous but it didn't matter, Dukai's soldiers were too strong. Blows were dealt, shots blasted, and the defenders were dropping from the sky. Toono slowly descended right next to his barely breathing opponent, poised to finish him off.

"Ah, yes…Well fun's over, boys! Time to get serious…Kill them all!" yelled Dukaï. Toono grinned wickedly and prepared a ki ball for the final blow. "It seems that this operation will go on without any problems whatsoever…" Dukai started before his scouter's frantic beeping interrupted him.

Djoukien and Aleen also checked out their scouters and their faces froze in shock. Several major power levels had appeared behind them without warning. Along with Dukai, they turned around to see a group of seven new figures were now standing there. One of them hid behind the others. But the first six were known to them before, they hoped they'd never have to fall on them.

"Well, you got a problem now." Vegeta stated, smirking.

END OF PART THREE


	4. Ch 04: First strike

QUEST FOR POWER : 

THE WARLORD

By Konrad

PART 4

Toono stood stunned as Gohan, followed by Yoshuro, walked calmly towards where he was with the fallen Jubian leader. He couldn't believe the numbers on his Scouter. _Impossible! How can this kid be as powerful as me?_ He thought, anger boiling higher in him as the two got closer until they were right in front of him. With Toono standing in between him and the Jubian leader, Gohan stopped.

"Move, please." Gohan stated without so much as looking at the opposing warrior's face.

With a furious yell, Toono launched a wild punch down at the Saiyan. His Scouter didn't pick up the spike in Gohan's power, nor did he see how fast the boy dodged his attack. He only had time to see the foot come swiftly to his face, sending him careening several feet back. Gohan landed back steadily and watched as Yoshuro tended to the severely injured Jubian officer.

"Ah, you must be Lieutenant Guri, the one we talked to earlier." Yoshuro said as he put the Jubian leader over one of his shoulders to carry him to safety to where the Z Warriors were standing. Guri barely had enough energy to nod accordingly. "Don't worry. I brought the warriors from Earth to help us. They'll take care of them!"

Toono, who had just gotten back up, looked puzzled at what was happening. Everybody also stopped fighting to stare at the new arrivals.

"The Earthlings... I can't believe they're here already!" gasped Aleen.

"Well, well. Looks like our reputation precedes us." Vegeta taunted. "Since you seem to expect so much from us, we won't disappoint you, I promise."

"The only thing we expect from you is to die!" yelled back Baramon, getting himself pumped for the fight.

"Ha, I doubt one of you could take me on!" Dukai boasted confidently. "Do you think you can fight everyone here? Cole, Baramon, Djoukien, Aleen, Toono, take all the soldiers to take care of them while I go retrieve what we came for."

Djoukien glanced over at where the Z Warriors were. Gohan had rejoined the group, while Yoshuro, Guri, and all the other Jubians stayed behind them, mindful not to join the fight. He briefly wondered if Vegeta and Gohan were Saiyans.

"Are you sure that's safe, sir?" Djoukien said, wary of being abandoned by his leader. "They are strong."

"Are you afraid of these Earthlings?" Dukai sneered. "You disappoint me... and I'm sure the big boss would be disappointed too."

Djoukien sighed. _No getting out of this one peacefully._ All the mercenaries got in their battle stances.

"Ah! So you've finally decided you're ready?" Vegeta launched casually without preparing.

The smaller and speedier Baramon abruptly attacked Vegeta and caught him off guard with a headbutt to the stomach. He then joined put his hands together and swung them up at Vegeta's chin, sending him flying back ten yards. Rapidly, Baramon and all of his men came down on Vegeta, landing punch after punch on him while he was still down.

The surprise attack advantaged Dukai's troops. 18 was distracted by checking how Vegeta was doing when she felt a presence near her. When she turned around, she was greeted by Aleen's left foot to her face. The opening gave Aleen and her troops plenty of opportunity to repeatedly land blows on 18. Meanwhile, Tenshinhan was pinned by Cole and his men, unable to go on the offensive. Trunks, Piccolo and Gohan didn't let themselves get distracted as easily as the others. Toono and his men attacked Gohan but were also confronted by Trunks. They punched and kicked furiously but the two half-Saiyans kept up with them easily.

Meanwhile, Piccolo took on Djoukien and his soldiers. _He seems strong. His ki feels familiar though._ Piccolo thought. But there was no time to think. Djoukien and his men threw punches as fast as they could. Piccolo decided to separate them so he could take them on one by one and finish them quickly. With a powerful ki blast, he sent Djoukien to the ground several dozen yards further. Seeing their leader taken down so easily brought hesitation to the other soldiers. It would be their last mistake. One of them was within arm's length, so Piccolo reached for his neck and broke it. Surprised, the others charged again, this time in disorder at the Namek. The strongest one, a giant of a man, threw a punch but Piccolo simply ducked it and elbowed him in the stomach. The next soldier to attack was dodged and tripped by Piccolo and sprawled to the ground. Piccolo then instantly ended his life by stepping on his spine. The remaining two soldiers stopped and hesitated again. The Namek took the opportunity to send a finishing ki ball into his first attacker. Finally, he turned to face his last two opponents with two fingers to his forehead as he charged rapidly his Makankosappo. The beam travelled fast towards the two soldiers but they jumped out of the way in time and turned to flee.

_As if I would make it that easy to escape._ Piccolo thought, smirking inwardly. He concentrated and the beam split into two. The two smaller beams then followed the two unlucky soldiers and eventually caught up with them, destroying them instantly. Piccolo then turned around to face Djoukien who was finally getting back up.

"I'm gonna get you, you stupid kid!" Toono screamed at Gohan. He tried to punch him but the young boy kept blocking his hits easily. This only made Toono more furious and less concentrated on his fighting. Gohan avoided Toono once more and teleported in front of one of his unsuspecting men, sending a ki blast through his chest. Meanwhile, another soldier got cut up into several pieces by Trunks' sword. Trunks finally realized something as he took a quick glance around the battlefield.

"Gohan, mind taking care of the rest of these goons?" He said as another unfortunate one met his sword's business end.

"Of course, why?"

"I saw their leader leave when we started fighting." Trunks said while another enemy met death by his sword. "No one else seems to have noticed and I know in which direction he went so I'll go after him and see what he's up to, ok?"

"Alright, don't keep us waiting!" Gohan replied.

Not far from there, Cole grew frustrated as he watched Tenshinhan get up from the crater he formed when he hit the ground.

"Attack!" Cole commanded. And his group flew down quickly towards Tenshinhan.

Tenshinhan had another idea though and separated into three beings. The warriors stopped in mid-air and were shocked when they were met by three Tenshinhans rapidly attacking. One soldier got slammed to the ground and never got back up. Another Tenshinhan chopped a second soldier at the neck, instantly breaking it. The third Tenshinhan teleported behind a third soldier and punched him hard to the ground before sending a fatal beam at him.

Djoukien and Piccolo stood face to face, separated by about a dozen yards. Djoukien looked fearless and didn't seem too evil like the rest in Piccolo's eyes, not to mention the slightly familiar aura about him. But he was still an enemy today, one that threatened these people, and he wouldn't stop until either one of them was down and defeated.

"Piccolo!" Djoukien said. "My name is Djoukien. I've studied a bit about you and your friends, it's an honour to meet warriors as strong as you and I doubt there's much I can do against you. However, let me warn you that, to those who get in his way, Dudan is much stronger than any of you and he won't let anyone get in his way. I don't think it's a smart idea to test him."

"If you know about us so much, then you should know that we don't really stand for the killing of innocents for whatever reason, regardless of who is more powerful." Piccolo stated calmly. "My friends and I will find a way to stop Dudan or die trying regardless. I appreciate your sense of honour, Djoukien, but only one of us can win today. Now then, shall we?"

Djoukien nodded and immediately charged at Piccolo, with the Namek curious to see what this young upstart was capable of. When Djoukien was merely a few feet from Piccolo, he disappeared. Piccolo didn't focus and thought that he would reappear behind him. But Djoukien merely teleported in front of Piccolo and caught him off guard with a knee to the stomach. He then tried a kick to the side of the head but Piccolo dodged it and jumped back. Djoukien was immediately on him again and threw punches and kicks at a rapid pace but they were all blocked. Seeing this, he flew up in the air, making sure Piccolo wasn't far behind underneath. When he thought he was close enough to him, Djoukien abruptly did a somersault in the air, hitting the Namek on the head. He then descended rapidly and kicked Piccolo in the chin.

_He's good._ Piccolo thought, smiling. _And he's really fast. Too bad he's on the wrong side, we don't have time for these games._

Piccolo started fighting more seriously. Djoukien tried his best but none of his hits were landing on target. On the other hand, the Namek started attacking too and Djoukien was hard pressed to keep up with him. Djoukien blocked several punches and kicks, but Piccolo was still getting more hits on him, tiring him and bruising him severely. Piccolo finally stopped and descended to the ground, followed by the winded Djoukien.

"It's no use, it's ok to give up." Piccolo said. "I got better things to do than spill more blood today."

"N-No." replied the other warrior, panting heavily. "I was trained to always be ready for death at any time, to give it everything I got, to win or to lose..."

Djoukien lunged himself at Piccolo with his right fist ahead. The Namek spun around to avoid the punch and, with a powerful thrust, sent his fist through Djoukien's stomach. The other warrior gasped deeply and spat out blood. Piccolo withdrew his hand and took a step back. As he observed the young man staggering, Piccolo was struck with awe as he finally saw Djoukien's tail, now unwrapped from his body, swish wildly. He finally understood what the familiar ki meant.

"You-You're a Saiyan!" Piccolo gasped.

"Y-Yes." Djoukien responded, clutching his sides. Somehow, he felt like smiling in spite of the pain.

"But how? You're too young to have been around back when your planet exploded!"

"Indeed, I never knew our original home…G-guess I won't know much else either... Well fought...Piccolo..." Djoukien managed one last smile, despite all the pain, before collapsing to the ground and drifting to the afterlife.

Piccolo was stunned by the discovery...and loss…of another Saiyan survivor. _Could there be more? Vegeta would want to know this probably._ Immediately, he looked for the Prince but, where he last saw him however, there was only a small pile of bodies. And a little further in the distance, Piccolo could make out a figure, Baramon, fleeing. _Well, his time is up._ Piccolo thought as he turned to look at how the others were doing. A split second later, Baramon was vaporized by a large beam. Piccolo's attention first turned to Gohan's struggle against Toono or, more to the point, Toono struggling against Gohan.

"Get that brat!" Toono yelled to his three remaining soldiers. He was sitting down on the ground, with his mouth bloody. Gohan looked unfazed as the three warriors surrounded him. They all charged at the him at the same. The young Saiyan threw a sweeping kick that sent one soldier against another. The other one went for a punch but missed and Gohan broke his back with a powerful punch. He then turned hurriedly to the other two and destroyed them with a large beam. Toono got up, more frustrated than ever and stunned that such a little boy could beat all of them. He powered up and shot his strongest beam at Gohan but the Saiyan countered it with his own blast. The two powers collided and struggled with equal force but Gohan grew weary of this battle and didn't want it to last longer than necessary. He powered up further and higher than Toono could and he pushed the beam back at the mercenary. It moved too quickly for Toono and, as he could watch in horror, he was swept away.

"That was easy enough." Piccolo said to no one in particular as Android 18 and Tenshinhan also finished their fights with Aleen and Cole respectively. "But it seems everyone knows of us. Yoshuro and the Jubians and now them too. To think, no one knows us on Earth. Hmmf!" He reflected on the irony.

"Hey Piccolo! Where did Trunks go?" 18 asked as she and Tenshinhan landed next to him, a hint of concern in her voice.

"He told me he went after their leader." Gohan bumped in.

"Then I guess he should be back soon enough." Piccolo said.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

A few miles away, a small research center was thrown into chaos minutes before. After most of the garrison departed to face Dudan's invasion troops, the remaining soldiers, scientists and staff scrambled all over the base as fast as they could, fleeing when they could or running to take refuge in the protected shelters underground. Still, they knew that they couldn't escape without immediate help.

"Get out of the way!" screamed a panicked young soldier at the main entrance. But the yell came too late as a fireball incinerated his companions. "Damnit! Go to hell!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he emptied his laser charger before also being blasted away. Fearing for their lives, the few remaining soldiers outside scrambled into the compound.

"That's right, run! Maybe an early surrender would've been better than your insane stubbornness." laughed Dukai, floating just above the ground. His Scouter bleeped a few times. "Hmm… I better make this quick. One of those Earthlings is approaching. I've got just enough time to hightail out of here once I'm done."

Dukai flew into the base. He ignored the panicked people as they hurried out of his way and went straight for the biggest chamber. Flaring his energy around him, he caused walls to buckle, the floors to rip apart and people to be blown back by the strength of his force. He burst through the reinforced doors of the main lab, catching the staff off guard as it tried to get all of it's sensitive research. In the middle of the room, a small scroll sat in the midst of circuitry. It's inscriptions read in a language foreign to the Jubians themselves and all along the walls powerful mainframes were busy reading and decoding it. Dukai flashed a smile of satisfaction as he approached the scroll. The scientists, still petrified, knew they were powerless to stop him.

"Ah, so these must be the Incantations. Dudan will be very pleased with this!" Dukai laughed.

"No! You can't take it, you don't know what can happen with this!" one scientist yelled.

"Relax, old man. I think I know what this is for and that's why I'm taking it!"

"You heard him, you can't take that thing and you won't." a voice spoke up from the entrance of the enormous chamber. Everyone turned around to see Trunks glaring intently at Dukai.

"Hmmf! I didn't think you'd arrive this early. No matter!" the evil commander said and he immediately charged Trunks

Trunks was surprised by the speed of the attack and received a punch to the jaw. Using his momentum, Dukai did a bicycle kick that sent Trunks flying a few feet back. As soon as he landed though, Trunks quickly got back up and, sensing Dukai's approach, he caught his adversary's fist in his hand.

"W-What?" went Dukai, surprised. "Oh well, time to get serious." He jumped back away from Trunks and took a fighting stance.

"Me fighting serious wouldn't be fair to you." Trunks taunted.

At the comment, Dukai growled. As the Jubians took cover wherever they could, the two fighters charged at each other. Their auras collided with each other and they engaged in a furious exchange of punches and kicks. The battle moved quickly from one spot in the room to another as Trunks and Dukai teleported after each other.

While they were airborne, Dukai threw three ki balls that travelled too fast for Trunks to block them. Dukai then tried to land a kick to Trunks' face but the Saiyan ducked and headed down quickly to the ground. Dukai did the same thing but didn't keep up with him. As soon as the evil commander landed, Trunks got on his two hands and did a sweep with his feet to trip him. Before Dukai even hit the floor, Trunks was up and drove him down into the ground with a hard blow from his right elbow. Dukai growled and pushed himself with his two hands to kick Trunks in the air. Trunks took the opportunity to fly further up and tore through the roof of the base, hoping Dukai would be stupid enough to follow as he didn't want to cause too much damage or hurt anyone in the fight. As he wished, Dukai blazed a trail after him, forgetting his mission. The two adversaries exchanged a few more blows before separating. They just floated in the air for a few seconds trying to stare each other down. Dukai finally broke the silence with a laugh.

"Haha! Is that all you got? You talked earlier of fighting seriously." he mocked. This time it was Trunks' turn to get mad.

"So you want to see something real!" the Saiyan replied.

With those words, Trunks concentrated and powered up. Dukai eyed closely his Scouter flickering wildly as the numbers climbed. Trunks' hair rose up and they started to glow gold. His eyes kept going from blue to green to blue before settling to green. Dukai struggled to stay in place as the winds from Trunks' aura blew all around him. Dukai gulped as he faced the Super Saiyan and silently braced himself for the next moves to be made. Trunks smirked.

"Well, what do you think?" he said but his smirk faded slowly as Dukai's lips curved into their own grin.

"I think that's perfect. Energy SUPPRESS!" Dukai yelled and he extended his left hand towards Trunks. A large white beam emanated from it and before he could react, Trunks was engulfed in a giant white bubble. As he felt nothing, Trunks thought the difference in their powers was making him immune to the technique, until suddenly he felt his energy peak then go down. He powered up again but then his power dropped again. In frustration he powered up to his max. This prompted Dukai to put more energy into his beam and bubble combination. Again, Trunks power started to fall.

"What... What the hell is this thing?" Trunks cried out. Dukai laughed.

"Hehehe! This technique is what I call 'Energy Suppress'." the mercenary leader started. "The more powerful I make it, the more energy it can drain from an opponent. Even if I can use a lot of my own power to make it stronger, it can absorb many, many times the amount of energy I spend so it'll make your own power level fall beneath mine. From our information from Earth, I knew that you could go to a much higher level than in our fight and it would've been a waste for me to continue like this knowing you could power up higher than me. So I deliberately enticed you to power up so that my technique could absorb all your power and make sure I wouldn't be outmatched!"

As he struggled against the bubble's power absorption, Trunks couldn't keep up. His power dwindled to the point where he dropped out of his Super Saiyan transformation and it went down even further until Dukai removed the bubble. Both adversaries were panting from their efforts but Trunks knew he was even more drained.

"There! You're now weaker than me!" Dukai exclaimed as a sinister smirk crossed his face. "Ready for some real fun!" Trunks tensed up and braced himself for the worst.

"Pretty tricky technique! Too bad it leaves you drained too." Someone called from underneath Trunks and Dukai. They looked down to see a young man floating lower than them. His hands were brought above and behind his head, a green aura flickering as he was already preparing a beam attack. He smirked at Dukai. "Think you have enough power for this!"

The wide, green beam closed the distance between the two men at a considerable rate, too fast for the mercenary commander. Dukai blocked it with his hands but it was too much and he could only struggle against it.

"W-What? No way, this can't beAAAAARRGHHH..." his final scream resonated far in the distance as the blast finally overtook and completely destroyed him.

Trunks observed with satisfaction as Dukai was disintegrated. Still exhausted he dropped down to the newcomer's level and got his first good look at him. At least a few years older than him, he had short and very well kept black hair. He wore a tight grey top with no sleeves and dark green pants. His slightly squared face sported a friendly smile. Detecting no sign of malice in his eyes or features, Trunks was able to relax a bit more.

"Hey, I'm Trunks. Thanks for the help."

"No problem. Sorry I came a little late to the party!" the stranger beamed. "I'm Chen, I command all the Jubian military. You're one of the Earthlings we sent after, right? I think there's some things I should show you and your friends, you'll have a better idea of what you're getting into."

Trunks nodded and followed Chen back into the base.

END OF PART FOUR


	5. Ch 05: Leaders of the Jubian people

**QUEST FOR POWER:**

THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 5

While many of them were picking the bodies of their fallen comrades, a few Jubian soldiers mobbed the Z Squad warriors, congratulating them for their victory and thanking them for their timely help. In the midst of it all, Piccolo pulled Vegeta by the elbow.

"What do you want?" the Prince asked.

"I need to show you something."

Flying, Piccolo led Vegeta to where he had killed Djoukien. As they approached, he merely had to point to the body and the look on Vegeta's face was one of total shock. Djoukien laid face down to the ground, his tail plainly visible for all to see.

"WHAT!" Vegeta cursed. "A Saiyan? But that's impossible!"

"Well if you know of another race whose people has fuzzy little tails, please do tell." Piccolo replied. "Besides, he told me so just before he died."

"I don't understand how this could be... Anyways, what do you want me to do about it?" Piccolo raised an eye ridge at the Prince.

"Well, aren't you a bit concerned? You're the Prince of Saiyans after all, I thought you might be a bit interested in what happens to your people."

"So you killed another Saiyan and this time I truly am the only pure Saiyan left for sure…"

"Oh, somehow I wouldn't be so sure, Princeling! We may have thought that the odds of finding any remaining Saiyans were against us…or rather in favour of us considering Earth's previous experiences with your kind…" Piccolo couldn't help but sneer slightly at Vegeta. "But I think if we had found one Saiyan all the way over here and by accident too, then maybe there could be more." Vegeta sighed in exasperation. Somehow he didn't want to think about it much.

"Well, what can we do for now?" he added. "He's dead thanks to you so we can't ask him anything, now can we? Let's get down to the business we came here for, we'll go hunting for Saiyans once this all over with."

"As you say. I just thought I'd let you know, Princey boy." Piccolo grinned. Vegeta groaned, causing the Namek to frown. "What is it?"

"Saiyans alive... All this time, I thought I'd never have to live with that responsibility, and now I might have to live up to this as the Prince. I was prepared for anything... but even this will be beyond anything I've ever done. Even beating Kakalotto wouldn't be the same level of challenge as leading my people if there's any more left." Vegeta reflected out loud. Piccolo didn't fully understand but he figured the weight of a entire race on your shoulders could be a lot for one to bare, even for the proud Prince.

"Whatever happens, you'll do fine." Vegeta humphed in acknowledgment.

At that moment, a familiar ki struck their senses. They quickly rejoined the rest of the group just before Trunks arrived along with another young man. The new arrival quickly proceeded to salute the Jubian troops and introduce himself to the Z Squad.

"Hi everyone, I'm glad you've all arrived. I couldn't come sooner to help. I've explained a bit to Trunks about what's going on. I'm Chen and I'm the commander of all Jubian forces..."

"You're young." Tenshinhan exclaimed.

"26 to be exact." Chen responded. "But I've undergone some thorough training since I was young, I'm also the strongest Jubian. And I spearheaded our efforts to bring you here. Thanks by the way, Yoshuro." Yoshuro nodded. "So yeah, I got a lot to tell you. To put it shortly, we found out a few years ago about something called the Power Stone. It's some sort of artefact that can grant tremendous power to its user. Well, this scroll was written a long time ago..." He lifted his left hand so the warriors took notice for the first time that in it he was holding a scroll. "It contains information on the location of a Power Stone supposedly in Jubian space and it also supposedly contains spells to unlock and use it."

"Let me guess." Piccolo interjected. "This is what this Dudan is after, right?"

"Yup. And as it happens we didn't give much importance to this Power Stone story until this war started. So up until now we haven't researched the scroll thoroughly. We then quickly placed it in a lab on this planet... which Trunks defended... in order to translate them with advanced equipment. Dudan will apparently go through us in order to acquire this Power Stone and the scroll. I can only imagine what he would do with it. But I can't stop him alone, so I sent after you because you're the only ones who might be able to help us on time."

"How did you know of us by the way?" Android 18 asked.

"Well we have a great number of explorers who go to any planet to trade, even those that don't know about space travel. Stories were reported to us about your numerous fights in the past and when the war began, we were reminded of you. I know I'm bringing you into something that wasn't your fight to begin with... I don't know what my people can do otherwise if we're threatened with slavery... or worse. We can barely defend ourselves as it is..."

"That's not a problem." Trunks said.

"Yeah, we could never stand by while innocent people get hurt. Helping is the right thing to do." Gohan assured.

"We'll do our best." Tenshinhan said.

"I'm definitely in." added 18.

"If I understand, Dudan will probably use the Power Stone to conquer and destroy other planets too. No matter what, something would have to be done." Piccolo mused. "Of course, we'll help."

"I'm just here for the challenge, as long as this character can give me a good fight!" Vegeta put his own 'approval'. Chen couldn't help but smile broadly as his newfound allies all gave him his support.

"Thank you so much. I am forever in your debt..."

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The next day, the Z Squad got their first real glimpse of Jubian civilization. While Yoshuro ferried everyone in his craft, Chen was explaining them the many sights of Heder, the capital city on Jubisei, as they toured the metropolis. Vegeta couldn't care less and sat apart from the others, Piccolo was only as curious as he could intake and process anything that might be useful battle wise such as Jubian temperament. Gohan, Trunks, Tenshinhan and even Android 18 listened to Chen intently and crowded the windows as they looked at the majestic city.

The Jubian civilization being far more advanced technologically than that of the Earthlings, their buildings easily dwarfed those of Earth. Heder was a massive urban complex stretching a hundred of miles or so in each direction. Its skyscrapers, usually going beyond three thousand feet in height, stood out as sleek towers almost entirely made of metal, both on the interior as on the exterior, contrasting with Earth's typically rectangular buildings. More often than not, they would be seemingly shaped in incongruous manners but it was always for functional purposes. They accommodated all sorts of other structures on them, such as landing pads for the small air vehicles Jubians used for transportation, hospitals and restaurants literally in the highest reaches of the sky. The most unusual building though, at least to the Earth warriors, was probably the giant spaceport near the outer portion of the city. From almost anywhere in the vicinity it couldn't be missed as it was both gigantic and floating in mid-air.

"That's where most commercial interplanetary flights are handled, especially for large crafts." Chen explained.

"Wow! That's awesome!" Gohan exclaimed. "We definitely have nothing like THAT on Earth. Your people are really rich!" Chen chuckled as Gohan quickly etched notes on all that he was seeing and learning.

"It's the only one of its kind actually. Most other cities and planets just have regular big spaceports."

"Well we have none of those either! So you guys are like the merchants of the galaxy?"

"Yup! We traditionally have always been a trader nation, we're very open to the other civilizations in the galaxy and most of our technology reflects that. We logically grew from our beginnings as space explorers into space commerce thanks to our more advanced ships. Then, basically, we extended ourselves into buying resource spots, like planets and asteroids rich in minerals. The Jubian population outside of Jubisei and a couple of other places is actually pretty small."

"What are your other important planets? What kinds of stuff do you guys make and export? What other races do you trade with? Can I get a spaceship too?" Gohan kept asking excitedly. Chen laughed out loud, visibly enchanted by the young boy's curiosity.

"Tell you what, Gohan!" he replied smiling. "I have full access to all sorts of information and I may be even able to help you getting it and explaining it. Anything you feel like asking, we can cover at my home!"

"Wow, okay! I'd love to learn more, please." Gohan beamed.

Chen wasn't the only one admiring the Saiyan's appetite for knowledge as Tenshinhan, Trunks and Piccolo looked at him. They were all amazed at Gohan's curiosity and each secretly wondered what they'd be like if they were as intellectually inclined as him. As hard as she tried, there was only so much Trunks' mother could teach him in the midst of the chaos of the future but he was determined to get things back to normal for his world and himself and fully use his mind. Piccolo thought proudly of Gohan and how he'll hopefully learn to apply his intellect to something practical. Tenshinhan on the other hand felt more useless than ever. He has at most been only a small contributor in the squad's recent fights. _Fighting is all I know to do. I have nothing else to give to Lunch... _He thought glumly.

The group finally arrived in view of the seat of the Jubian government, the Federal Assembly. Over two thousand feet across, from the sky it was mostly rectangular with star shaped extensions at its corners. The Federal Assembly building had thousands of windows but, on what Tenshinhan assumed to be the front, there was a very large section without windows. Instead, there was a logo that went all across that area. It looked like two red crescents joined together to form an X with a blue dot in the middle. _Too bad they don't know how to make good looking buildings to match their technology. They need better taste._ Tenshinhan reflected. Yoshuro made for the small spaceport on the roof of the building. As they approached, they saw a few hundred people waiting for them already. Chen groaned in mild annoyance.

"I kinda wish the rest of the high command and the President were with me on this. I wanted to keep the mission to retrieve you guys as much a secret as possible. But the President and almost everyone else thought that with the war on the balance, it might be better to let at least all of the military and the politicians know of your coming as a sort of morale booster. I guess I understand a bit but I still think it would've been better to wait a bit after your arrival to avoid making it such a big government deal."

"That's ok." Gohan assured. "It kinda feels good to be recognized as heroes for once, even if it's away from home."

"So long as some clown doesn't come to claim victory afterwards, we don't mind." Trunks added, referring to Mr Satan's current streak of popularity. Almost everyone chuckled a bit at the thought.

A few minutes later, the Z Squad were greeted by the President of the Jubian Federation as well by various government and military officials, most of them Jubian but a lot also of other alien races. One of them stood out however in their eyes. Trunks especially looked at a girl who looked his age. She was slender, with bright green eyes and long orange hair going down to the middle of her back. She wore a suit which covered her whole body except her hands, her head and neck. It was black underneath with an orange piece above it that went from each of her shoulders, in the form of a V, down to her waist. There, the two strips joined both each other and what looked like a short piece on top of the black suit. The orange garment seemed loose, while the black suit was tight. As Chen introduced some of the most important dignitaries on hand, he didn't miss to point out the young woman too.

"...And this is Lulu, my sister. She's only 18 years old but she's the strongest Jubian fighter after me and she also serves in the high command." Lulu smiled politely and bowed slightly, keeping on the most serious face possible. Trunks kept staring at her as her face reddened a bit.

"On behalf of all the people of the Jubian Federation, I thank you all for accepting to aid us in our time of need!" The President started in an official monotone, much to the disgust of the all the warriors. "This is truly a dark hour for all Jubians and also for all the galaxy. The threat of Dudan is a grave danger that must be dealt with! You are the best hopes for billions of people; your courage is admirable. Your success is a must. If there's anything we can do for you..."

"How much are you paying us?" 18 bluntly asked. Everyone looked at her in astonishment.

"Uh... pardon?" The President stammered.

"You heard me! Heroism doesn't come cheap, you know. If our butts are at the front lines, we better be paid good!" 18 reiterated, half mockingly. The President blushed deeply while Chen and the Z Squad tried their best not to chuckle. Vegeta on the other did not even try to hide his amusement and laughed out loud. Chen then remembered he had a duty as an official himself.

"Ah, those Earthlings, so full of humour!" he said quickly. "Well, that's all for today folks, we have some harsh training to undertake for the war. Why don't you all go back inside while I take care of briefing our Earthly friends? I promise to keep you all up to date on the latest developments. Good day, gentlemen!"

The assembled crowd, including the humiliated President, was ushered back inside except Lulu. Finally, when the warriors were alone on the rooftop, Lulu exploded in laughter.

"Oh my, that was priceless! You saw the look on his face? It was hilarious!" she exclaimed loudly. Trunks was surprised at how well she had hidden her true, more vivacious nature.

"Yeah, I just felt like shutting him up a bit." 18 smiled back. "I hope you didn't mind too much."

"Nah, not at all! His speech was kinda boring, but I guess it is his job as a politician and stuff." Lulu replied. "Well at least I don't have to pretend to be a stiff anymore!" Vegeta humphed.

"One should still behave in a dignified manner."

"Oh, you're too serious... Vegetable, right?" Everyone laughed loudly while Vegeta gritted his teeth. "Anyhoo, nice of you to bring the Earthlings, big brother! They're pretty funny..." Just then, she locked eyes with Trunks and her joyous face beamed even more. "Funny and good looking!"

"Huh? Oh, thank you!" Trunks replied with a deep blush.

Piccolo silently observed the two of them interact and mentally sighed as he realized how quickly an attraction was made. _Are all humanoids so emotional?_

"So what are we gonna do exactly?" spoke up Android 18.

"Well, there's nothing much we can do right now.", Chen spoke. "The scroll will be put in another, more secure lab. Our scientists will continue in their efforts to decipher it. In the meantime, all we can do is prepare ourselves and wait for Dudan to make his next move."

"I don't see what's the point in waiting. I'll find this character and take care of him myself without any of your help!" Vegeta snarled.

"And as usual, you'll end up needing our help eventually." Gohan mocked.

"Dudan is not to be underestimated in any way. He used to work alongside Cooler in the insidious planet trade operations, in case you didn't know." Chen added.

"Freezer's brother?" Vegeta frowned. "Well, that's more reason to get rid of him. I can wait."

"Good. Ok, listen people." Chen said again. "This is going to be the toughest fight of our lives yet. We need to be ready, so we'll go to my house and train day-in, day-out. Ok?" Everyone except Vegeta nodded. "Good, so let's go!"

END OF PART FIVE


	6. Ch 06: The Namek Express

**QUEST FOR POWER:**

THE WARLORD

By Konrad

PART 6

Trunks and Piccolo screamed almost simultaneously. The Saiyan extended both arms and put his fists together forward. From them came out a large, dark blue beam with light blue sparks of energy crackling all around it's entire length. Piccolo's arms were also fully extended in front of him, with the palms of his hands together and pointing towards his targets. A long blast of fire with an orange, triangular cone at it's tip, came spiralling out of his hands.

For a moment, Tenshinhan, Gohan, Android 18 and Lulu stood stunned as they watched the two blasts come hurtling towards them. They weren't aware that Piccolo and Trunks had found the time to develop new techniques. Lulu, however, was the quickest to react.

"Heads up, everyone!" she shouted to the three others. "Come on, we gotta move!"

The others finally remembered where they were: in a training session against their two comrades and in the direct path of their attacks. At the last moment, the four warriors jumped in the air, managing to avoid the blasts. They glimpsed behind them to realize the power of those attacks. Trunks' beam was the first to touch ground, resulting in an earth-shaking explosion. A large dark blue sphere with menacing purple-red electric sparks erupting at its surface emerged from the impact before disappearing. Piccolo's attack continued further, burning a hole through a hill. When it finally landed, it scorched the ground in a large radius. Under the mild sun, Chen and Yoshuro were surveying the practice session from the height and safety of a nearby cliff.

"Wow..." Yoshuro could only mutter in amazement. Chen merely nodded and continued to carefully observe the battle.

"Guys, let's make a screen!" Lulu yelled out as she charged towards Trunks and Piccolo. _Screen?_ The two warriors pondered, not sure what she intended to do. With the others following her, Lulu unleashed a torrential wave of quick, small ki blasts. Trunks and Piccolo prepared to evade what seemed like a straightforward attack but, to their surprise, the blasts veered away from them and made contact with the ground all around them. The massive amount of small explosions lifted an incredibly thick cloud of dust, blinding and choking Trunks and Piccolo.

"Damnit!" Piccolo cursed out loud as he coughed, trying to cover his eyes, nose and mouth. "So that's what she meant, SMOKE screen!"

Not wasting a moment, Lulu, Gohan, 18 and Tenshinhan dove into the dust cloud. Piccolo and Trunks tried their best to focus their senses on locating them but only managed to do so too late. Tenshinhan punched the Namek in the back, then Gohan kneed him to the stomach. They finished their combo with a double kick to the face that sent Piccolo flying. Trunks, meanwhile, didn't fare any better against Lulu and 18. As he tried taking them in the air, they landed several hits on him, ending with him being rammed, face first, into the ground by Lulu. _Hell, those two are way too in line with each other! _He thought angrily. Just then, Piccolo was blasted back by Tenshinhan's beam to where Trunks had forcefully landed.

"Any ideas?" Trunks asked as he got up quickly.

"Of course, you know me." Piccolo grinned. "But first, let's even the odds."

Piccolo separated himself into three separate beings. After taking a crucial moment to focus on the locations of Gohan and Tenshinhan, who were also trying to sense their new whereabouts in the dust cloud, the three Piccolos converged immediately on Tenshinhan. In spite of his third eye helping him see through the cloud, the Triclops didn't see the three Nameks. Tenshihan was punched several times before one of the Piccolos delivered a thunderous blow by swinging his arms. The helpless Human was sent flying in the direction of Trunks.

Just as he saw Tenshinhan being sent to him, Trunks barely felt Lulu and 18 behind him. A small smile crept on his face. He caught Tenshinhan in midair and, spinning around, he used the momentum from the Human's forced flight to send him into 18. Seeing both of her partners taken down, Lulu stopped and hesitated.

"Bad move." Trunks said as he shot her with a one handed blast, blowing her back.

Trunks turned back to Android 18 who was just getting up, dazed. She blocked two quick kicks from him with much difficulty before he launched a third, sweeping high kick. It hit her in the jaw and, landing several feet back, 18 was out of the fight.

Gohan meanwhile was busy trying to contain the three Piccolos. Every blow he landed was met with another and he decided to change tactics. He bounced away from one Namek to solidly head butt another. He barely dodged a punch from the first Piccolo however when the third one appeared behind him and elbowed his back. Gohan had his breath cut, gasping at the sudden, sharp pain in his spine. The three Piccolos hit him again simultaneously, causing the Saiyan to fall to the ground. Piccolo reunited with his selves then, after taking a moment to refocus his energies and senses, he focused on his ki. His aura flowed in waves around him, dissipating the dust cloud. As Trunks came next to him, the pair surveyed their surroundings. Tenshinhan and Gohan were flat on the ground, groaning in pain, while 18 was struggling to get up, down on one knee.

"Well, looks like we won this round, Piccolo." Trunks beamed as Piccolo nodded his approval.

"Oh no, it's not over yet!" They turned around to see Lulu defiantly, if shakily, standing on her feet. "Gohan, can you still do one more thing?" Mustering his willpower, the Saiyan boy painfully got up.

"And what do you think you can do? Either of you are hardly in shape to continue against us." Piccolo smirked.

"I got more tricks than you even, Piccolo." Lulu smiled back. "Gohan, charge your strongest attack and wait until they're vulnerable!" Gohan nodded and raised his hands above his head, preparing his Masenko. Incredulously, Trunks and Piccolo looked at Gohan powering up.

"MA-SEN-KO..." the young boy yelled at the top of his lungs.

"And exactly will you make us vulnerable?" Trunks asked nonchalantly.

"Like this!"

Without further warning, Lulu lunged at Piccolo, both fists extended for a double punch to his face. Piccolo saw it coming and easily dodged by ducking his head. However, he was surprised to feel a tug at his antennae. Too late, he realized that Lulu hadn't intended to punch but instead was trying to grab his antennae... and succeeded. The Jubian looked at Trunks with a wicked grin. Trunks had a sense of dread creeping into his body.

"W-what?" He muttered while taking a step back, not knowing what Lulu intended to do but feeling that it might hurt.

"Yoinks!" Lulu merely said in an amused tone.

With all her might, the Jubian swung Piccolo by his antennae into Trunks. The force of the impact brought a crushing pain to their bodies and drew out all air from their lungs. Gohan immediately saw this was the vulnerability Lulu had intended on creating for him.

"...HAAAAAAA!" He finished his Masenko and sent it into the combined forms of Piccolo and Trunks, engulfing them completely. When the energy dissipated, the two sparring partners were a few dozen feet away, almost perfectly still on the ground and unable to continue fighting.

"Whew!" Gohan exclaimed, exhausted. "That was tough."

"Impressive." 18 conceded.

"And the victory goes to Tenshinhan, Android 18, Gohan and Lulu!" Lulu screamed as she jumped in the air.

"Woohoo!" Tenshinhan celebrated in his turn.

The quartet rushed to the fallen pair and helped them as they tried to get up, shaken up and battered. Piccolo was particularly displeased, his body but especially his antennae aching badly.

"Blasted woman!" He growled. "Do you know how much that hurt! They're very sensitive and fragile!"

"Don't have to be so grumpy about it, Piccy!" Lulu replied, smiling. "You can be such a grouch sometimes, you know."

"Whatever! I'll make you pay for that."

"Don't worry, Lulu. He always says that my dad beats him in sparring sessions but he never makes good on that promise!" Gohan laughed, making Piccolo grumble some more. The Namek simply donned his cape and turban as the others laughed at his expense.

"Hahaha! I'll say. That was incredibly entertaining." Chen said as he descended next to the group, with Yoshuro clinging to his left arm.

"I guess that was a pretty good practice, I think." Trunks replied, turning to 18. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, let's wrap it up for now and catch a break." she said.

They all got off the ground ready to fly off. Just as Piccolo started flying first, Lulu flipped his cape over his head and got on his back.

"Whooo! I get to ride the Namek Express!" She yelled cheerily while the blinded Piccolo flew wildly, flailing his arms uncontrollably and uterring a myriad of muffled curses. All the Z Squad flew beside them, enjoying another round of laughter at the expense of the Namek.

"Hey, wait for us!" Yoshuro yelled as he and Chen hadn't left immediately. "Let's go, Chen!... Chen? Sir?" He turned to see that the Jubian general wasn't paying attention and was instead looking into the sky. Finally, Chen snapped out of his trance.

"Oh! Forgive me, Yoshuro." Chen replied. "I felt... a distraction. Anyways, I guess we better catch up with the others, right?"

As he flew off carrying Yoshuro, Chen couldn't help but frown deeply. _Was that a shimmering in the air...? It must've been just my imagination._ He shrugged off the thought and proceeded to catch up with the entire formation.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Cerion finally let go of the breath that she had been holding. For what seemed like an eternity, the Jubian general had stared directly into the cloaked camera, almost managing to see it. Luckily, he eventually turned and flew away. _If only cloaking technology were perfect. Oh well, he didn't find it and that's all that matters for now._ She thought.

Turning off the feed from the camera, Cerion relaxed and resumed sipping a warm cup of tea. She was in her personal spaceship, cloaked in orbit above Jubisei. She frowned and pondered on the next move to make. Recently, her time had been increasingly lousy and though she still maintained her cover, she wondered how long that would last. Cerion grabbed a small recorder. Whenever she felt lonely and lost in her thoughts, she liked to keep a vocal recording of her what she had on her mind, it helped her feel and think better.

"Cerion's log, 240115." Cerion spoke into the small device. "This afternoon was fairly interesting. I witnessed another sparring session of the Earth warriors and Gohan is turning out to be as strong as I hoped but I need to be stronger for now. Once that's done and he's served his purpose, then I'd have to get to real business with him... The Jubian general almost found my secret camera but he abandoned his search and he's none the wiser. Otherwise, there's always some sort of unpleasant surprise. Yesterday, Dudan convened all of the Elites, including Sulfus and myself of course. As I expected, he reported that the search for the Power Stone was going quickly and that we were close to finding it. Of course, I didn't tell him I knew where it was but I know he is getting close and this affair is getting on my nerves. It's keeping me from my other business. No matter what, he can't be allowed to win. The stakes are too high. The Jubians are no closer to knowing where the Power Stone is or how to translate the scrolls." She paused for a moment and reflected on her further course of action. "It seems that I'm going to have to intervene and 'help' them more significantly than I had originally planned."

Cerion took another pause to think of what she had to do and what it would imply. Again she started speaking into her device.

"Strange as it is, I can't figure out what to make of Sulfus. I'm not sure what to think of him anymore. After all, we've been fighting together for Dudan for years. But would I have to abandon him? Why that would bother me so is puzzling to me. Still, it's obvious that I must concentrate on what's most important. It would be a shame if Sulfus got hurt in the process. Log over."

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Trunks made his way to the kitchen to get a quick drink. He knew supper was almost ready anyways but he had to quench his thirst first. There, foraging through the fridge was Lulu. Hearing the Saiyan greet her, she pulled her head from the box.

"Hey, Trunks. You want something?"

"Um… I'll have some milk… I know it's weird as we're about to have supper and drinks anyways." They laughed as Lulu threw the Saiyan a bottle of milk. She took a large bottle of juice, intended for the big supper they were having outside.

"It's baktra milk by the way." Lulu said as she watched Trunks pour himself a glass and gulp it down in an instant.

"Baktra?"

"Yeah, it's not like your… bovidae, if I'm correct, on Earth. It's what you call a… gastropod? Sorry if I'm not using the correct terms."

"That's ok. I'm not sure I know what a gastropod, but this is really good milk." Trunks shrugged as he poured himself another glass. "You have a great house. You and your brother bought it yourselves?"

"Thank you! No, actually we inherited the entire estate from our parents. Our father was also general of the Jubian army… And his father too. So our family was pretty rich and the house only got bigger. But in truth we don't use all of it."

"Sounds like a pretty intense upbringing… not unlike ours, actually. I mean it we we're never public heroes or soldiers or anything like that. How do you balance your public life with your private life?" Trunks asked, causing Lulu to smile and blush at his attention. _Since when is she shy about anything?_

"Wow! You ask some tough questions. I… haven't really thought about my personal life since it's always been my brother and I. I make lots of friends easily. But lately, I've wanted something… more. What about yourself, Trunks, what's going on with your personal life? I'm sure a cute guy like yourself has some lady friends to think about." She said with a sly smile as she approached the Saiyan.

"Oh…um, I got no one for now." Trunks replied as it was his turn to blush deeply. Lulu giggled at his nervousness and lowered her head. She loved Trunks' kind but shy ways and she wondered if maybe there could be something. Just then, Gohan entered the kitchen, much to Trunks' relief as it diverted the attention away from him.

"Hey Lulu, you got the fruit juice you promised?" The young boy chirped.

"Right here!"

"Ok. Let's hurry up! The food is ready and Chen is going to start serving everyone any minute now… Trunks, are you drinking milk before dinner?"

"Yup… Baktra milk if I'm correct. It's pretty good." Trunks responded.

"What's baktra?"

"It's a type of… gastropod, as you Earthlings call them." Lulu replied. Gohan eyes widened, then he looked at Trunks taking a gulp of his glass with an amused expression on his face.

"By the way, what's a gastropod, Gohan? Is it like the family of the deer or something?" Trunks asked.

"Actually, broadly it's the family of the snail." Gohan responded grinning. Trunks' eyes bulged out their sockets and he immediately spewed the milk he had just drunk.

"Come, you guys. Everybody must be waiting for us outside." Lulu said nonchalantly, leaving the kitchen followed by the two Saiyans, one giggling uncontrollably, the other gagging uncontrollably.

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"Sorry for the delay, people." Chen said as he started serving the banquet to everyone. Lulu, Gohan and a still livid Trunks joined the others around the large table that was set up outside in the back of Chen and Lulu's home.

"About bloody time! It's night already, how dare you delay the serving of Saiyans, especially the Prince!" yelled Vegeta. "Do you know what I'd have done if I had to wait any longer!"

"Of course. You'd have died of hunger because you can't cook for yourself and we wouldn't have to endure you stupid rambling." Replied sarcastically Android 18.

"A Prince shouldn't have to serve himself. And it should be that Jubian woman serving food, not the man, even as pathetic as he is!" Chen and 18 sighed.

"Hey Piccolo, why so green… I mean blue! You're not still upset about me pulling your antennae today, are you?" Lulu joked. The Namek grumbled and hastily took another very large gulp from a pitcher of water.

"Thank you, Chen. But it wasn't necessary to do such a large dinner." Tenshinhan spoke.

"Nonsense! You people have been guests in my house for five days now. And since you have pledged yourselves to our cause, it was only appropriate that I make you an adequate welcoming party. And who knows, maybe this may our last dinner together. If not, we'll make it the first of many!" Chen laughed. Just then, a loud beeping was heard. Chen retrieved a small device from his pocket. "Uh, sorry. I gotta take this." He said as he walked away a short distance from the banquet.

"What's that?" Gohan asked.

"A transceiver, it's quite similar to your phones." Lulu answered.

"Wow. There's so much I want to know about your people." Gohan exclaimed. Lulu pondered an idea for a moment.

"Hey, you got a chance to see our society and our technology. Do you want to see our wild life too?"

"DO I?" Gohan yelled excitedly. This also picked up 18's interest.

"What are you proposing, Lulu?" she asked.

"Well, why don't we all go in the wilderness tomorrow? Chen and I can show you some fantastic scenery, as well as lots of animals and plants you've never seen."

"That sounds like a terrific idea, little sister." Chen said as he joined the group once more. "But I won't be able to go. I just received a call from the lab on Planet Terius. Apparently, they're close to figuring out how to translate the Power Stone scroll so I'm gonna have to take a look at it. It's too late right now so I'll leave first thing in the morning but you guys should go ahead, it'll be fun and take your minds off of everything for a short bit."

"We will." 18 replied smiling.

"Alright, so it's all decided. Tomorrow, we go on a nature hike!" Lulu exclaimed happily.

END OF PART SIX


	7. Ch 07: The End of the Beginning

**QUEST FOR POWER:**

THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 7

In a secret lab on Planet Terius, Chen promptly visited the scientists and experts who eagerly greeted him. Time was always of the essence but doubts nagged the usually calm general.

"Quick question." Chen spoke. "We had this scroll for years now. With all the materials, information and equipment we had, we couldn't decipher them. And now you're telling me that you figured out what's in them in two days?" The head scientist coughed in nervousness.

"Er, not quite, sir." He responded. "As of now, we merely have a blueprint on how to translate it, which should hopefully be done within the day…"

"A blueprint?"

"Which brings me to how we were able to figure it out in so little time: we now have a source material in the same language as the scroll itself." The scientist explained.

"Wonderful!" Chen exclaimed. "Where did you find this source?"

"Um, we're not sure, actually. We received an encoded transmission containing this text and it's translation."

"Hmmm, I see. Who sent this transmission?"

"We don't know who sent it." The scientist continued. "But we thought if someone could reach us, it could logically only be from within the government or secret services. But we were told that it wasn't when we asked."

"So it could be a hacker." Chen added.

"That's always a possibility though he or she would have to be well connected to have found this material."

"Yes, but how would we know if it's authentic?" Chen spoke with a twinge of impatience in his voice.

"Well, the source material seems to make sense in its translation. But if you doubt it yourself, sir, we could ignore it if you wish. That is why we felt it was best to ask you." The scientist said. Chen sighed.

"This is the best we got. So what have you translated so far?" he asked.

"Well, it seems we have the precise location of the Power Stone."

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Trunks walked aimlessly throughout the compound. Thoughts about Lulu were racing in his head. After the entire squad, save Vegeta and Piccolo, had spent the day in the wilderness of Jubisei, Trunks lingered for what seemed like hours talking with Lulu. He was only vaguely aware of their mutual flirtation and now it burned inside his head. It seemed to him that he was falling more and more for her but now he didn't know what to do next.

Trunks stopped for a moment. He decided he had to talk to somebody quickly. He closed his eyes and started reaching out with his senses, trying to feel out everybody's presence in Chen's mansion. The first person to register in Trunks' senses was his father. He was heading towards the training room, and he wouldn't want to get interrupted. _Not that he's the perfect candidate to talk to about personal things anyways. _Trunks thought. His senses continued their search and he identified two people that were sleeping, Lulu herself and Gohan. But two other signals caught his attention, those of Piccolo, who was meditating, and Android 18. Trunks groaned. _What would a Namek, especially this moody one, know about love and sex? … But then again, through Kami, he probably has seen a lot of things_. 18's ki on the other hand suggested that she was trying to sleep though failing at it. She was in the midst of a relationship right now though nothing suggested she's had much experience before. Since he was becoming friends with the both of them and they seemed equally qualified to answer him, which is to say not at all, Trunks decided he'd go see them one after the other. He made out that the closer of the two was Piccolo so he headed in his direction first.

Trunks quickly made it to the large gym where Piccolo had decided to meditate in. Why he chose this particular place was beyond him. One of Piccolo's antennae twitched slightly as he sensed the young Saiyan's presence near him.

"Hey, I don't suppose the reason why you didn't go on the nature hike with us is because of Lulu's 'Namek express' thing?" Trunks teased. Piccolo opened his right eye only and looked murderously at Trunks then closed it once more. "Anyways, sorry to interrupt but I need to talk to you about something."

"Hmm." Piccolo grumbled annoyingly.

"I need advice about love and, um, sex."

"Simple. Don't do it." said the Namek without thinking. He wanted this to end as quickly as possible.

"Oh sure, easy for you to say, you're a Namek."

Before he knew what happened, Trunks' face met Piccolo's fist.

"Ouch! But that's true!" Trunks protested. Almost as quickly as he finished his sentence, another punch connected with his chin, causing him to stumble backwards. "Ouch, hey! Sorry! What's wrong with you?" Trunks asked.

"Don't ask!" Piccolo yelled.

"No, really, I need some help and I have no one else that can help me right now… I know that as the former guardian of Earth, you must've seen countless human romances. I need some advice." Trunks pleaded. Piccolo sighed

"Fine!" the Namek responded. He crossed his arms again and closed his eyes. Obviously, he wasn't getting out of this unless he gave a compelling word of wisdom. "Here's a key piece of advice, whatever your problem is, it starts with honesty. Not just to the one you're after but to yourself also. You can't say that you love him or her if you may not be, and conversely don't deny that you're in love if you are. And make sure it goes with your values. There's a lot more to it but that's the basics I think. That's all I can say for now." Trunks sighed.

"I guess it's not easy, huh?" Trunks said.

"No, but you think too much." Piccolo replied.

"Yeah, maybe…" Trunks pondered.

"By the way, how was your hike?" Piccolo asked. Trunks' face lit.

"It was pretty interesting actually. We visited a tropical forest with weird animals… yes, including those giant slugs called baktra…" The expression on Trunks' face turned to mild disgust as he recalled the slugs. "And we went through a canyon with winds so strong that they carried us without need for actual flying."

"Hmmm, sounds pretty interesting."

"Yeah, it was fun riding the air waves… Oh, Gohan, Tenshinhan and Android 18 got swallowed by dragons!" Trunks continued. Piccolo raised an eyebrow.

"What!"

"Not really swallowed actually." Trunks added. "These two huge dragons, kind of like flying dinosaurs with sacks in their throats, scooped up Gohan, Tenshinhan and 18 in their mouths and brought them to their nest. Lulu reasoned that they had probably lost their young ones and mistook the others for them since these creatures are partially. So Yoshuro watched them while Lulu and I went searching for the real kids who had fallen out of the nest. The parents kept tending to Gohan, 18 and Tenshinhan's needs like they were their offspring. But we were able to bring the little ones back and get our three friends back, thankfully."

"I see…" Piccolo added. "So you and Lulu were alone together for a few hours?" Trunks blushed.

"Um, yeah. And she kissed me. I wasn't sure what to do and I kissed her back."

"Well, do you like her?" Piccolo asked.

"I still haven't figured that out."

"Well, it's taking you pretty long. You should sort this out in your head, I think."

"Yeah, probably…" Trunks replied. Piccolo dismissed the slightly sad tone in the Saiyan's voice as part of his persona and didn't say anything. "Well, I'm gonna go."

"If there's anything…"

"I know. Thanks." Trunks replied smiling. He turned to leave.

"Oh, one thing." Piccolo said, stopping him. "So while you and Lulu were out rescuing baby pterodactyls, Tenshinhan, Gohan and 18 had to wait for you guys while being coddled and fed by their parents?"

"Yup."

"So how did 18 take it?" Piccolo asked smirking. Trunks burst out in laughter.

"Well, imagine a volcano erupting."

"That bad?"

"No, twice as bad." The two chuckled. "Well, I'll see you later, Piccolo."

Piccolo could feel himself relaxing more as he heard Trunks leave. _Ah! Alone again…_ He thought.

"Now what was that all about? Piccolo all jittery because of a question on sex and love?" A voice called out and echoed throughout the room, startling Piccolo. It would've seemed to come out of nowhere for anybody else. But he knew very well to whom that voice belonged.

"NAIL!" Piccolo shouted out loud, infuriated. "Me concerned about love? How dare you say something like that! Just shut up and go back to where you belong." Nail chuckled, giving away the position of his disembodied spirit, behind Piccolo.

"Unfortunately, I belong to the back of your head so you know where I'll go if I go back where I belong, buddy." Piccolo mentally cringed at the word 'buddy'. "So Trunks probably found love, good for him. Now… what's taking YOU so long?"

"What do you mean what's taking me so long? I'm not looking for love, I'm not looking for anything! Now shut up, I want to meditate!" Piccolo said indignantly but Nail continued to mock him.

"Hmmm, as I recall, a couple of weeks ago, while we were still on Earth, you were distracted by a couple of women and you found them to be 'hot'. Now don't deny that, after all I belong to your head so I know all that you think!"

"Grrr… I don't remember." Piccolo mumbled.

"Yeah, I'm sure you did." Nail continued, smirking. "And I'm sure your antennae twitch every time you see a magazine like a Play…"

"NAIL!" Piccolo screamed cutting him off.

"Now, now, calm down, Piccolo." A new voice spoke out. Piccolo immediately felt another spirit materialize near him. "And Nail, stop making fun of something that's so important to him as love.

"Kami…" Piccolo muttered in anger, his teeth grinding together very loudly. _If those two weren't a part of me…_

"So what's with our friend over here?" Nail said to Kami.

"Well, I think there's something missing in Piccolo's life and that would be love." Kami replied.

"For your information, I'm not missing anything in my life and certainly not love. And for crying out loud, don't pretend like I'm not here!" Piccolo interjected.

"Well, what about that kid Gohan?" Nail continued, ignoring Piccolo. "Is that love Piccolo feels with him, right?"

"No, Piccolo feels more like a father figure with Gohan. He loves him but in a different way in this case. You should know that as well if you looked as closely at Piccolo's actions as I have." Kami explained.

"Stop talking about my life! And for crying out loud, Gohan is simply my former student!" Piccolo yelled.

"So… from what I've observed for the past couple of years, Piccolo would be looking for something more along the lines of what Son Goku has with his wife… or Vegeta with Bulma." Nail half-reflected out loud, half-talked to Kami.

"Something like that yes. Though I don't think he wants to follow those particular models." Kami replied.

"But how is that possible? Piccolo's a Namek. And so are we. Where could he have gotten such an urge?"

"Well, if you take a look at us Nameks closely, I think it's plain to see that we're not far from human or Saiyan males anatomically speaking." Kami said. "We're not sexual and that's pretty much the only difference between them and us. We act and look the same way. Nameks seem to have almost all the male traits common to most species except that particular point. When I think about it, I wonder if it's even possible that Nameks may have been sexual at one point. Maybe something happened to the females and all that were left were the males and they became asexual as an adaptation… but that's all speculation on my part."

"So, assuming your theory might be correct, Piccolo probably got those urges from back when we were males?" said Nail.

"Or he always had them and they were simply awakened by his constant proximity to Earthlings and Saiyans." added Kami.

"I'm not even the master in my own head…" Piccolo sighed.

"Wow, Piccolo's in need of love. Who would've thought!" laughed Nail. Then he stopped as he reflected for a moment. "Hey, I think I remembered something from the past, something that Guru had told me about Nameks a long time ago. But I'll leave that to another time, Kami. Anyways, what's there to do about Piccolo's situation and his feelings?"

"Well it's up to him to do something about love wherever and whenever he finds it. But we've spent enough time on this. Come on, Nail, I think our friend needs some rest and so do we." said Kami.

"Right. Well good luck, Piccolo. If you're in trouble… well, we'll know anyways, we're always with you!" Nail finished off with a laugh. Nail and Kami faded away and Piccolo could feel their personalities firmly back inside his head once again.

"Note to self." grumbled Piccolo. "Next time we get the Dragonballs, I'll ask for those two to be out of my head… or I'll get brain surgery."

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Meanwhile, Trunks continued walking to where he felt Android 18's ki and to his surprise, she was half-asleep… in Gohan's room. He entered it and found Gohan in his bed, sleeping peacefully. Right next to him, he saw 18 leaning back in a chair with her eyes closed. Seeing that, Trunks reconsidered and figured it was best not to disrupt her. He made a move to leave when something bright on a desk caught his eye. He recognized it as a laptop his mother had provided Gohan along with other material.

"Encyclopaedia and history of extraterrestrial civilizations, by Son Gohan" it read. Trunks spent several minutes reading it, amazed at Gohan's curious mind and his dedication. Over the next several pages was a description of the Jubian civilization, their home, their history, their technology, their customs and their characteristics, all the information that Chen had been generous enough to supply Gohan. Trunks even found the beginning of a chapter on Jubian animals and chuckled as he recalled their adventure of the day.

"He's an amazing kid, isn't he? He's so brilliant and devoted." said 18, smiling. She was still tired and woke up while Trunks was reading Gohan's manuscript. Surprised at first, Trunks simply smiled back gently at the Android.

"Um, yeah. No matter which dimension he's from, he's the same…" Trunks replied, lowering his voice at the end of this sentence. That saddened Android 18 slightly.

"I… kill him… in your world, I mean?" She asked. Trunks nodded. She looked downwards. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, we know you're not like that. You're not the Android 18 in my world. As for you, I'm glad you're one of my friends." Trunks said, smiling the best he could.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She replied, smiling weakly. "Piccolo, Lulu, you… it feels nice to have people around you. Too bad you're going to have to leave and fight the other me and maybe even kill her."

"Well I don't care about that. If us two remain best friends, it won't matter." Trunks stated simply.

18 managed to pull off a genuine smile this time. She thought she would've been a pariah not long ago but instead she was blessed with wonderful friends, incidentally her former enemies who once vowed to crush her and her brother.

Suddenly, a loud siren blared in the room, shocking 18 and Trunks. Gohan woke up groggily.

"Huh? What's going on?" he asked.

"I got no clue what this is." 18 responded.

"Everyone to the war room immediately!" Lulu's voice resonated through an intercom. "This is an emergency, report to the war room now!"

"Well, looks like there's going to be some action." 18 said aloud.

A few minutes later, Trunks, Android 18 and Gohan rushed into the room where almost everyone was there. Yoshuro and Tenshinhan followed moments later, being the latest since they were outside.

"What's going on?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Alright, everyone's here, good!" Lulu exclaimed. Trunks observed her deeply furrowed brow. He had never seen her look so serious and determined. "I just got a call from my brother on Terius, we've finally got some news concerning the scroll and the Power Stone. The most important part of the scroll has been translated, the one that reveals the location of the Power Stone, it is on planet Mesata…" To this, Yoshuro gasped. "Chen gave me the exact coordinates for it. We're gonna go retrieve it right away before Dudan or his forces have a chance to get there. I'm pretty sure he'll find out about it, if he doesn't know already so we must hurry and get there before him. Gather anything you might need, we must depart immediately. Yoshuro, please prepare your ship."

As almost everyone nodded and departed to their quarters to get whatever they could, Tenshinhan hesitated as he saw Yoshuro sigh heavily.

"Are you ok?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Yes… yes, I'll be fine. It's just…" Yoshuro swallowed a lump in his throat and his face became livid.

"What is it?"

"Mesata… that's my home." The Jubian responded.

Tenshinhan felt his heart skip a beat. After all the fights in the past and battling evil, he had never heard an ordinary person's anguish from so close as their entire lives are going to be in the crossfire.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Chen kept his vigil in the vicinity of the lab, watching the night sky of Terius as he waited patiently for the scroll's translation to be finished. After giving his sister the location of the Power Stone, he stayed to supervise the completion of the analysis and maybe he could even use the artefact against Dudan. Still, he felt uncomfortable as he felt control of the war slip.

"None of this is right." Chen said aloud. Not for the first time, he felt manipulated by a force he couldn't see. It couldn't be a coincidence that a translated source was handed out of generosity to his scientists. _Certainly, someone who is involved in this somehow planted it and is moving things behind the curtains._ He thought. _But who? And why? What's the big picture that I'm missing?_

Chen sighed. The weight of the war and the responsibility as protector of an entire society spanning many systems was bearing down on him. _Maybe I'm getting too old for this._ He wondered, trying to add some levity to his sullen mood.

"General Chen! Sir, please respond!" A voice urgently called out on Chen's transceiver. He immediately responded to the call

"What is it!" he asked.

"Sir, we're receiving multiple signals above the planet! Five ships have dropped out of warp and are about to penetrate the atmosphere, heading straight for the lab. Confirmed enemy contacts!"

"I'll take care of as many as I can! Stand by for anything that slips past me, put all systems and personnel on the highest alert! "

"Yes, Sir!"

Cutting the transmission, Chen powered up as much as he could and ascended rapidly in the air. He had anticipated that Dudan might find out about the lab and his instincts were correct. At least he was now there to keep the scroll safe. He flew up as quickly as he could, ignoring the cold blasts of the upper atmosphere. When he finally came to a stop, Chen looked up to see blazing arcs as the ships entered Terius' atmosphere.

"Great." Chen said to himself grimly. "This is it, I gotta win this. Without the scroll, all is lost."

END OF PART SEVEN


	8. OF Spotlight on LULU

Hi everyone! As those of you who read this regularly probably know, my fic has a few original characters of my own creation that pop up here and there. I figured it'd be cool to have an 'official' profile for some of them, namely those that are bound to reappear more often. So, here is a profile of one such character, Lulu!

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**LULU**

Name: Lulu

Gender: Female

Race: Jubian (Humanoid)

Age: 18

Height: 5'6

Hair: Orange

Eyes: Green

Other physical features and typical attire: Lulu is a relatively slender young woman. She has long, bright orange hair that goes below her shoulders and that she usually wears down. She's usually seen sporting a black body suit that covers her whole body below her neck save her hands. The suit also has two orange strips that run from her shoulders down to her waist where they join together, forming a V pattern on her.

Personality and history: Lulu is a top general for the Jubian civilization, along with her brother Chen. Their father was also a distinguished general and they both were drawn and raised into the military profession. After Chen she is the second strongest Jubian by far. Lulu's personality contrasts with her brother's. She's easily amused and immensely joyful and doesn't really act her rank. She's not above pulling pranks on others. However she's morally upstanding and sensitive. When things get serious, Lulu puts all her attention on the task at hand, bringing out another side of her. She puts aside any hint of levity when it comes to defending lives and the values she believes in, sometimes at the expense of some prudence.


	9. Ch 08: Battle lines drawn

**QUEST FOR POWER:**

THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 8

Chen brought his run to a halt and got down on one knee. His chest heaved, sweat flowing in torrents down his face, as he struggled to catch his breath. In spite of that, or maybe because of it, he was exhilarated. He gave himself a small smile. _Not much of a workout but not bad either for a bunch of losers._ He thought.

He jumped in the air and the tracking missile that had followed him slammed into the ground, exploding into a small crater. Chen continued into an array of back flips and spins until he landed directly behind the soldier who had fired at him. The soldier swallowed nervously and turned around slowly to face Chen.

"Boo." Chen said smirking. The soldier merely fainted.

_Good, no loss of life today at least._ Chen surveyed the area and noted with satisfaction that he didn't need to kill anyone today. The small enemy strike force never stood a chance but it was well equipped and did make him sweat a little. Never liking the political implications of his job, Chen instead positively relished the fighting. It's on a battleground, mixing it up, that he felt most comfortable, if not happy.

While the lab security was busy rounding up and containing all the enemy soldiers caught, Chen went to talk to the lead scientist.

"Good news, sir!" The scientist said. "We have completed the translation of the scroll. This should be useful."

"Good, let me see." Chen replied as he took the scroll and the read the translated version. "So with this I can transfer energy from the Power Stone to whomever I choose."

"Yes, but the effects are exponential. The increase is bigger in someone stronger."

"So the stronger the recipient, the more power given?"

"And vice-versa, it's almost useless on someone who's weak." The scientist completed. A plan formed inside Chen's head.

"I see. I'll be going to Mesata right away with this then. Excellent work."

"Thank you, sir!" The scientist beamed, missing Chen's concerned expression.

_Mesata is a couple of hours away. I hope everyone can just maintain until I arrive. Please, Lulu, just hang on!_

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_C'mon! Just a little more time._ Lulu thought anxiously as she monitored the evacuation of Planet Mesata. Earlier reports warned of a battle fleet that had briefly appeared at the edges of Jubian space, then quickly vanished before it could be tracked. Lula was certain that Dudan must now know the location of the Power Stone and she had ordered the civilian evacuation almost as soon as she had left her home in Yoshuro's ship over two hours ago. While the Z Squad, Yoshuro included, waited patiently in the center of the ship to arrive at their destination, Lulu was at the helm issuing orders and reviewing the situation.

"Colonel, update on the refugee situation!" she barked speedily into the communications link.

"No slowdowns in the evacuation process, ma'am. There are about less than seven hundred thousand civilians left on the planet." A voice on the other side of the intercom responded. "With all the armed forces in place, we should be done in ninety minutes."

"Alright. And the Power Stone?"

"An excavating team is at the coordinates you gave us, they are digging already."

"Great, thank you, colonel." Lulu replied before cutting off the transmission.

Resting her head in her hands, Lulu sighed wearily and looked at the stars ahead. Until the population of Mesata has been completely evacuated and she personally had the artefact secured, she was determined not to rest. At the same time, however, the weight of the responsibilities were crushing her, her nerves were increasingly on edge, while a dreadful feeling crept up. There was still twenty minutes before they could reach the planet. Lulu kept staring blankly into space for a few moments before a hand touched her shoulder, causing her to yelp.

"Whoa! Hey, it's just me." Came Trunks' voice.

"Trunks! Don't scare me like that!" Lulu said, swatting his hand away in annoyance.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You look tired; maybe you should take a break. The auto-pilot is pushing the ship as fast as it can anyways."

"No, I need to keep an eye out for anything new. I'll be in charge of everything until Chen can join us. I gotta be ready to take care of whatever happens."

"You're taking a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders." Trunks stated.

"Like you would know!" Lulu snapped back before immediately regretting her impatience. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to… I mean…"

"It's ok." Trunks replied, smiling gently. "Yeah, I know that pressure, when an entire people depend on you against impossible odds. I know that feeling." Lulu drew a sigh of relief.

"It feels bad… and I feel like something horrible is gonna happen. I just know it!"

"Hey, you got us, remember? And me."

"Yeah, I guess so… Um, Trunks? If we get through this, what will you do? Where will you go?"

"Well I guess I'll go back to Earth first with the others." Trunks said, staring dreamily into the stars ahead. "And from there, I'll go back to my own time. I'll help restore my home."

"Ah… Yeah, you gotta go back and do what you can." Lulu replied with a twinge of sadness. _How can I abandon my life here and go to the future? And he can't stay here. This wasn't meant to be, I guess._

Suddenly, the link wailed loudly, causing Lulu's heart rate to climb.

"Report!" She yelled frantically into the device.

"General, we are under attack!" A panicked voice responded. "The entire enemy fleet just appeared suddenly through a warp hole, we're being hit hard!"

"Protect the evacuation ships at all costs! Reinforcements from all sectors are on their way so hold on for at least half an hour, I'll be there myself in less that that!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The communication was cut.

"Ok, evil warlord, worlds in danger, power to conquer galaxies… This is going to be bad." Lulu muttered while Trunks wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"What's going on?" Android 18 exclaimed as she barged in the pilot cabin with the rest of the Z Squad.

"I don't know but we'll soon find out, I think." Trunks replied.

Less than twenty minutes later, Yoshuro, back in the pilot's seat, manoeuvred the ship into view of Planet Mesata.

"Well, this is more like it." Vegeta said coolly. Piccolo frowned and crossed his arms while the others gasped in shock.

In the distance, Mesata's rust-coloured color betrayed its desert climate. The atmosphere's cloudless sky would've been a sight to behold in itself if not for the spectacle all around it.

Massive, dark battle cruisers, in two sides, fired volleys of laser and missile weapons upon each other. Carriers launched nimble fighter crafts to disable the opposing fleet while other specialized ships contributed in their own ways to the giant fight. The planet traders' ships seemed to have the edge in offensive capabilities but the Jubian side balanced it with more defensive weaponry, disabling techniques and numerous robotic fighter planes. The resulting light show of laser trails and explosions from thousands of ships covered almost of what was visible. In the meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, convoys of cargo ships, in effect any ship that was space worthy, were hurrying to complete the evacuation.

"Hey, look!" Gohan exclaimed. A large, circular ship detached itself from the rest and started to descend onto the planet, under the cover of many others around it. It sported a stylized 'D' on one of its sides. "That must be the lead ship, it looks like it's going down for the Power Stone."

"Either way, we can't put our powers to any use from here." Piccolo noted.

"Right! Yoshuro, take us down as quickly as possible." Lulu ordered.

"Okay. Hold on tight, everyone!" Yoshuro responded.

The experienced pilot pushed the ship as fast as it could go, engines blazing an energy trail behind it. In a few moments' notice, taking advantage of the confusion from the giant battle, the ship nimbly spun and spiralled its way into the fray. It barely dodged obstacles and weapons fire, both friendly and enemy, rocked the vessel, prompting the Z Squad to silently count their blessings. Even Vegeta, unaccustomed to feeling so helpless, could only observe in complete silence as they flew.

If he knew how uncomfortable his passengers felt, Yoshuro didn't let it on. He gazed with a stone face at the scene before him, constantly on the lookout for danger as well as openings he could slip through. He briefly thought about his family and friends on Mesata, then he kept on pushing the ship to its limits, making impossible twists and turns at high speed. He let his instincts control his reactions and for a moment Lulu wondered if he was almost one with the ship. Reassured and trusting in Yoshuro's skills and dedication, she continued to observe their approach. Eventually, after several tense minutes, they were past the brunt of the battle and they entered the planet's atmosphere.

"That was absolutely insane!" Tenshinhan said. He immediately realized how long they all had been quiet.

"Yes, thank Kami!" Android 18 exclaimed in relief.

Only a few minutes later, Yoshuro's ship sped above the frantic streets of Mesata City. Down below, soldiers, authorities and brave volunteers were running around, trying to complete the evacuation of thousands upon thousands of civilians. A flotilla of craft hurried in the air in all directions, some taking more people to safety off the planet, while others, empty, came back for more. Crowds of panic stricken people raised their hands to the ships, desperately hoping to be the next to be airlifted off. Others ran around in disorder, calling out for friends and relatives and gathering whatever last possessions they could bring.

The extended Z Squad reached a military outpost on the western outskirts of the city. As soon as they exited the ship, Yoshuro dashed inside the compound. The local commander, trying his best to keep his cool in the midst of all the chaos, greeted the rest. Lulu saluted him then turned to look north. Far off in the horizon was the giant enemy ship that had entered the planet's atmosphere. It maintained its position floating in the air.

"Well?" Lulu coolly asked without taking her eyes off the ship.

"It's confirmed as a Planet Traders Guild flagship, a giant carrier." The commander responded.

"So we have potentially a few hundred airships to deal with in addition to Dudan himself? And the city?"

"Still over a hundred thousand civilians left. I'm not entirely sure how we'll get them all."

"Find a way!" Lulu responded sternly. "Let us do the dirty work, we'll buy you the time…"

"Time is already running out!" Piccolo stated.

"W-what?" Lulu stammered.

"One large power just left the ship and it's heading directly for the Power Stone's location." Piccolo continued.

"Damnit!" Lulu cursed.

"Heads up, guys! There are more strong fighters coming our way. Plus hundreds of soldiers." Tenshinhan added.

"Let's split up. Trunks, 18 and I will go to the Stone…" Piccolo started.

"No, I'll go to the Stone, you help here, Piccolo." Lulu interjected.

"What? But your people…"

"It won't matter if I can't get to the Stone first. I know exactly where to get it, there's no time to lose. Trunks, 18, let's go!"

"Very well, but be careful." Piccolo said.

Lulu paused to look at him, and then with a nod she blasted off, followed by Trunks and Android 18, leaving the others and the local commander there.

"Well, this could be interesting." Vegeta said.

"And if interesting you mean life threatening, I agree." Piccolo replied sternly. Vegeta merely chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"I'm curious… Is this how it felt?" the Saiyan Prince asked as he watched for signs of the incoming air force.

"Huh, how what felt?" Tenshinhan questioned, puzzled.

"Waiting for me… when I first came to Earth and attacked with Nappa. Was this how it was like when you were waiting like we're waiting now for this Dudan character?"

"Well what do you feel?" Piccolo asked in turn.

"How should I know?" Vegeta shrugged. "It's not like I'm used to playing hero."

"You don't have to be here if you don't want to." Piccolo gently mocked. "I'm sure you'd rather be sleeping or eating or whatever it is that you do."

"And let you have all the fun, Namek, like I let Kakalotto! Please! I must admit this does feel kinda personal, being here to defend other people for no good reason."

"Things feel different, don't they, after Trunks was killed by Cell?" Piccolo asked but Vegeta couldn't respond. "I know it feels different for you, Vegeta. When you have to defend something that's your own, whether that's your home or someone you care for, you don't want to lose that something. And you don't want others to lose their home, their loved ones or their lives either. That's why it feels more personal as you say."

"You know, I asked a simple 'yes' or 'no' question, I didn't ask for a lecture." The Prince grumbled.

"You're welcome." Piccolo replied, grinning.

"Well, that's one way of seeing things, I guess." Tenshinhan added.

"Yeah… well here goes nothing." Piccolo stated as he looked at the sky.

"Hey guys!" Yoshuro exclaimed as he came running out. "I just checked and my family have been evacuated and… oh!"

"Oh man!" Tenshinhan cried out.

The sky was filled with hundreds of small aircraft buzzing and hovering over the city. The sound of engines roaring was only matched by the screams of the populace now in a complete state of panic. The enemy air force immediately started firing into the city, causing a few buildings to explode and catch fire.

"All air fighters, robot flyers and those warriors who can fly, take to the sky immediately! Everyone else, fire at will! Fire at will!" The commander yelled out frantically on his communicator. Rapidly, Jubian pilots manned their planes while a few select soldiers trained in ki mastery took off to engage the enemy ships. Piccolo hardly paid attention to the military actions as he was on the lookout for the more important foes.

"There!" Piccolo exclaimed. "To the back of the enemy fleet, there's four of them. Can you feel them?"

"Yeah, I can. They're definitely strong." Tenshinhan responded, tensing.

"Oh, now you're afraid, Human? I for one have been waiting for the real fight to start." Vegeta mocked. He then turned to Gohan. "What about you… eh?" He paused when he looked at Gohan's face. He only then realized the young Saiyan hadn't spoken a word in a while and had a look of pure focus. Gohan simply looked at the sky. Piccolo looked on also in curiosity. "What is wrong with you, brat?"

"Gohan." Piccolo said. "Are you alright?"

"Oh. Yeah, I'm okay… Let's do this." Gohan spoke softly without looking at the others. His tone held a slight tone of apprehension and aggressiveness in it, as if he was pondering something else. Piccolo decided to let it pass.

"Okay, let's go!" The Namek said.

The four Z warriors blasted off into the air. Masses of Planet Traders' airships buzzed around them, some veering away from the unexpected arrivals, others tailing in pursuit. They began firing but the Z soldiers outmanoeuvred them as they tried to reach their real opponents. Tired of their pursuit, Piccolo let out a massive cry. His ki flared around him, creating gale force winds that knocked more than a dozen aircraft out of the fight.

"Nice shot, Piccolo!" Tenshinhan said.

"Yeah, now where are… Ugh!" Piccolo was about to talk when a purple flash streaked by him, knocking him back in the process.

"Why, since you insisted so much on meeting us, we're right here. We are the Elites!" A woman spoke from behind the Z Squad. They immediately turned to see their contenders.

"Ah! Well about time you showed up… what the? This can't be!" Vegeta started but his mocking tone was quickly replaced by one of confusion.

"What…?" Piccolo could only mutter in astonishment and fear.

"No way…" Gohan whispered in shock. No words escaped Tenshinhan's open mouth.

The purple flash stopped moving, revealing the smirking, overconfident form of Crest as he took his place alongside his three comrades. With him were Cerion, Sulfus and Timber, three other members of Dudan's Elites. Crest was a very tall figure, taller even than Piccolo. His skin was light purple and he also had teal eyes. He wore a sleeveless, open black shirt along with loose green pants and various chains crisscrossed on top of his shirt. His dark brown hair was arranged in a single mohawk and he sported a large silver ring in his nose.

Cerion, human in appearance, hovered with an almost regal manner to her and she certainly dressed and looked the part. She wore a golden, light armor that only looked metallic and started at her chest down to an impressive silver coloured belt at her waist. On her forearms and shins were also golden pieces of armor of the same, protective material as her top. A light orange skirt covered her down to a few inches above her knees. A large purple cape was attached at its ends to her wrists. A golden, thin crown with a single jewel rested atop her jet-black hair to complete her outfit. Impressive and unusual though those two were, the Z Squad couldn't believe their eyes looking at their two companions.

The relatively slender Timber had a somewhat rectangular face with rough skin, almost as if his face was made from the bark of a tree. Spikes protruded from the top of his head. Most of his body, since it appeared to be naked, was leaf green, save for patches on his arms, legs, and the very top of his head, which were dark green. Sulfus, on the other hand, though only about as tall as Vegeta, was an extremely muscular figure. His arms and his chest bulged out fearsomely. His head was far more normally rounded; however he also wore a helmet, which had tusks extending downward, barely removed from his cheeks. Sulfus was mostly a very pale yellow on his body, save for patches on his head, shoulders, arms and chest that were a darker shade of yellow. Once these differences were taken into account however, with their overall figures and their massive tails, Sulfus and Timber more or less looked…

"Freezer!" Vegeta exclaimed.

"What?" Sulfus asked, curious.

"You… you look like him but that's impossible!"

"Huh? Oh, I get it! Timber, they don't know about our people, even the Princeling is ignorant! And to think you once worked for Freezer too!" The four Elites laughed.

"Your people? You mean there's more like you and Freezer?" Piccolo asked.

"Yes, that is correct. A lot of other races call us 'Changelings' or 'Elementals' but we call ourselves Kosajin." Sulfus explained.

"An entire race of you bastards!" Vegeta spat venomously. "For all that your race has done to me, I'll kill you all!" Sulfus chuckled.

"Not likely."

"Empty threats, Saiyan. But either way, you and your friends are still in our way." Crest spoke.

"But we'll ignore everything if you just go and return where you came from. Why come all the way over here for another people? That'd be such a waste of your blood." Timber added arrogantly.

"What we do here is none of your business, we defend who we want to!" Tenshinhan yelled. Sulfus rolled his eyes.

"Hmpf! I knew you Earthlings would want to fight, I would've expected nothing less." The yellow Kosajin said. He absent-mindedly cast his eyes down to the city and a wicked smirk crept up his face. "So we fight now, then we need a battling area, no? Any place will do, so how about… down there!" Sulfus immediately dropped down and flew into the city. The Z Squad were stunned for a moment, and Crest and Timber followed Sulfus down.

"Cowards!" Vegeta screamed at the top of his lungs.

"The city… but we can't fight there, all the bystanders!" Tenshinhan said.

"Looks like we have no choice. Either way, innocent people are going to get hurt and we got to stop them!" Piccolo countered forcefully. Immediately, Piccolo, Vegeta and Tenshinhan flew as quickly as possible into the city. Meanwhile, Cerion and Gohan merely looked on.

"Well, that looks exciting." Cerion stated before turning to look, with a smirk, at Gohan. "Wouldn't you agree, Son Gohan?" Gohan grimaced.

"So you're the one who was talking to me in my head since we landed on this planet." Gohan replied icily. "Who are you? How come you know me? And what the hell do you want?"

"My name is Cerion. And I know that you have a lot of potential; potential that I can help you realize… if you join me!"

END OF PART EIGHT


	10. OF Spotlight on CHEN

Hi everyone! As those of you who read this regularly probably know, my fic has a few original characters of my own creation that pop up here and there. I figured it'd be cool to have an 'official' profile for some of them, namely those that are bound to reappear more often. So, here is a profile of one such character, Chen!

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**CHEN**

Name: Chen

Gender: Male

Race: Jubian (Humanoid)

Age: 26

Height: 5'11

Hair: Black

Eyes: Green

Other physical features and typical attire: Chen is a very strongly built young man. He has short black hair that is always cropped nearly perfectly. He usually wears a grey sleeveless shirt and dark green military pants.

Personality and history: Chen is head of all Jubian military, as his father was before him. He and his sister Lulu were raised to be both fighters and leaders. Chen is the strongest off all Jubians; as a matter of fact, he's the most powerful individual in the civilization's entire known history. That puts him more or less on par with the Earth warriors. Chen's personality contrasts with his sister's. In public and in social settings, he's polite and courteous but also excessively serious. Chen believes that his position requires him to act this way in public. In battle however, he is far more comfortable. He takes battle with a very loose mind and would often make fun of his enemies before beating them into submission.


	11. Ch 09: Games of the Goddess

**QUEST FOR POWER:**

THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 9

Skyscrapers crumbled. The streets were filled with screams of panicked people. The ground shook and erupted loudly. The sky lit up with flames. It was only the day before that Mesata City was a forward looking, booming outpost that symbolized the triumph of Jubian technology.

Now, the air buzzed with hundreds of deadly fighter planes and aircraft that tried to batter each other. While under fire from Jubian defences, the Planet Traders Guild ships pounded the city with their weapons and bombs, setting it ablaze and destroying anything they could. Meanwhile, the battle on the ground raged on, the true balance being decided there. Sulfus, Timber and Crest dispersed themselves throughout the crowds, sowing havoc and terror as they went and using the populace as shield from the Z Squad. Every few moments, a loud boom was heard along with a sudden gush of power, indicating that Vegeta, Piccolo or Tenshinhan had been able to make contact with their enemies. But more often, they played catch-up. Piccolo and Tenshinhan especially didn't want to harm any civilians.

Far above the city and the chaos, both distracted by the events below, Gohan and the enigmatic Cerion faced each other. Gohan frowned and sent out a silent prayer that not too many people would get hurt. Cerion, meanwhile, seemed more concerned over someone else.

"Damn you, Sulfus…" She cursed. "I told you not to anger Vegeta." Hearing her voice brought Gohan's attention back to his own situation.

"Hey, what do you want with me?" He yelled again, getting Cerion's attention back. "And what are you going to do with this Power Stone?"

"Well, I have to say that I'm more interested in you, Son Gohan. And you could become something else with my guidance." Cerion replied

"Your WHAT?" came the angry reply. "What makes you think I need anything from someone like you!" Cerion sighed. She had obviously chosen the wrong words.

"Gohan, what makes you what you are?"

"Whoever you are, miss, I don't know what you're getting to!"

"Again, that's Cerion. And what I mean is, you defeated Cell, didn't you?"

"Yeah, how do you know that?" Gohan responded.

"And you defeated Garlic Junior. And you also successfully attacked Radditz. All those times, that incredible power of yours was suddenly unleashed. Haven't you ever wondered where that comes from? How you could repeatedly reach a new peak of power while others, including your father, could only do that very few times? Do you know who or what you are?" Cerion began to explain.

"What do you mean, 'what I am'? You're confusing me. How do you know all this?"

"I'm a good spy maybe?" Cerion shrugged. "Most importantly, because I'm like you, child. I know who and what you are and, more to the point, what you CAN be."

"Oh, I get it now. You want my power and you want to use me." Gohan said frowing. Cerion chuckled.

"If only it were that simple. So much potential… and yet so much wasted. You couldn't defeat me as you stand now. Because you can't get to your powers. How could you beat Dudan? I'll tell you one thing. Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo, if they fight Dudan, they'll fail. And they'll die. Because you couldn't do it. Now how would that feel?"

"Shut up! I'll stop him like I stopped Cell!"

_That's right, child… _Cerion thought to herself in satisfaction. _Get angry and unleash that real power of yours!_

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_C'mon, you gotta stay calm._ Tenshinhan thought. He dashed madly through the crowd of panicked innocents. Only moments ago, he had again lost track of Timber and now he had to contend with the Planet Traders' regular ground forces. In spite of his own mental encouragement, Tenshinhan struggled not to be overwhelmed by the situation, as the battlefield was different from any other of the hero's previous fights.

A group of a dozen Planet Traders' soldiers fired indiscriminately into the nearby crowd. The street filled with blood as Jubians both civilian and military were being mowed down. More people were hurt even trying desperately to flee. Tenshinhan pushed his way through until he was between the enemies and the Jubians. The Traders fired more salvoes of thick energy blasts in the opposing direction. Tenshinhan's mind raced at the potential of more bloodshed.

"Now's as a good a time as any to try this! PSYBLAST!" Tenshinhan screamed at the top of his lungs as he extended his arms forward. A series of large purple rings shot forth from his hands. The Traders' blasts stopped moving when they came in the vicinity of the travelling rings, before harmlessly dropping right there. That didn't discourage the soldiers however and they kept firing while Tenshinhan kept sending out his Psyblasts to protect the Jubians. Unfortunately he was distracted from seeing another group of soldiers approach from the street to his left.

"Full power! Fire!" They yelled.

"Shit!" Tenshinhan muttered as he braced himself for the impact of the blasts this time aimed directly at him. But before they could fire, an energy wave engulfed and vaporized the second group of soldiers and a familiar capped figure swooped overhead. A moment later, Piccolo barrelled through the first group. He punched and kicked his way through, often killing his opponents in a single blow. Tenshinhan was finally able to put down his Psyblasts and breathe easier.

"Looks like it'll be like this the whole time. Yet we can't be everywhere at the same time. And we need to defeat the Elites, they'll do the most damage and are our real opponents." Piccolo stated as Tenshinhan caught up with him.

"They're so fast." The Triclops wondered aloud.

"I know." Piccolo replied. "Damn them! Taking cover in the middle of a whole city."

"Wait… Piccolo, was that Trunks? A power just fell." Tenshinhan said.

"What?… You're right. And I feel someone else's too! They're probably fighting over the Stone."

"Do we go there right away?"

"No, not you, Tenshinhan. You continue defending the city. You might not be enough for that other fighter, whoever it is. I'll go help Trunks and the others."

"Alright. But here, take a senzu bean with you. 18 gave me the whole bag to help here. Just in case." Tenshinhan said as he reached for a senzu to hand to Piccolo. "I'll try to be there as soon as possible, you can't do it alone, you know."

"Fine. Thanks." Piccolo responsed. The Namek immediately flew away as fast as he could.

_Tenshinhan was right. That was Trunks' power that went down. What's going on now? Could that be…?_ As the thoughts raced in his head, Piccolo saw too late the purple flash pass in front of his eyes. Next thing he knew, an elbow dropped into his back, sending him spiralling out of the air. Piccolo slammed through a building and finally stabilized himself as he came out the other side. _Well, isn't this swell?_ He thought acidly as Crest materialized in front of him.

"Hehe. I heard you earlier and you're not going anywhere, Piccolo." Crest said smirking.

"Don't count on it!" Piccolo yelled as he fired dual laser beams from his eyes.

Crest blocked them but Piccolo was immediately on him with a flurry of punches that the mercenary could barely keep up with. Even Crest's reflexes weren't enough as one punch got through and broke his nose. He was sent back in the air before regaining his senses.

"What! Even with his cape?" Crest mumbled as he wiped the blood that was flowing.

"You seemed so fast a minute ago. To think I was worried you could actually be dangerous up close." Piccolo taunted. He faked his best cool expression as he was actually feeling the strain from his exertion._ Even without the cape, he might be faster than me but I don't want to waste any more energy on him when there's someone bigger. All I need is to trap him up close…_

"You piece of trash!" Crest spat. "I'll show you real power!"

Crest flew at Piccolo and disappeared. Expecting that, Piccolo turned to swing a punch but his hand only went through an after-image, mildly startling himself. He immediately felt pain in his back again as Crest passed by quickly, delivering a swift kick. Crest flew by again and again until he was nothing more than a blazing whirlwind, delivering punches and kicks that Piccolo couldn't keep up with. The Namek kept taking the blows as best as he could until he was blown out of the sky. He slammed into the ground in a heap of concrete.

_Come on, Piccolo, just a little more. Keep it up._ Piccolo thought to himself as he got up shakily from the ground. Suddenly he felt Crest wrap his arms around him from behind, seemingly binding Piccolo's own arms.

"How about that, Namek?" Crest mocked. He started to squeeze Piccolo tightly, crushing his lungs and his bones.

"How about I get rid of your arms?" Piccolo answered back angrily. He shot his eye beams downward at Crest's arms but missed and instead they opened a hole right next to the two warriors. "Damnit!" Piccolo cursed.

"Ha! Now you see who is stronger." Crest continued his taunting despite the fact that Piccolo's head blocked his view. "Like I said earlier, you're going nowhere, heheURK! Aaack! W-what?" Crest stammered as something wrapped around his neck and squeezed, choking him. He let go and grasped desperately at the thing. His eyes swelling from the pain and the lack of air, he could barely make out the green and pink form around his neck. "No way…"

"Yes way." Piccolo nonchalantly replied, now completely unfazed by the previous beat down.

His right arm was stretched into the hole he had deliberately blown seconds ago. His arm had snaked it's way through the sewers underground then surfaced back halfway across the neighbourhood, unseen and undetected by the overconfident Crest.

"Sorry to make this short." Piccolo stated. "Unlike some people, I'd rather not waste my time bragging." With that, he started retracting his arms without entangling it from his opponent's neck. The last sound Crest heard was that of his own neck snapping.

"There. Now to the most important" Piccolo said recalling his arm back from the corpse. Ignoring the continuing fights in the city around him, he quickly took off towards the faraway mountains. "You three better hold on until I get there or you'll hear from me!" He growled to no one as he accelerated, not unnoticed to some.

_Huh? The Namek?_ Sulfus wondered as he lost sight of the green streak that had just passed. _Did he defeat Crest already? They are stronger than Dudan thought, no wonder Cerion warned me… though I don't understand why she didn't tell the others. I wonder…_ The Kosajin's thoughts were interrupted by a distinctive growl followed by a yell. While he mused, Vegeta had found his way into a nearby street.

"Come out, alien!" The Super Saiyan screamed at the top of his lungs. "I can feel your power, I know you're near. Show yourself, you coward!"

Sulfus smirked to himself. _Well I'll have my fun with the Prince of Saiyans regardless of what Cerion says._ "I'm right here, Princeling." He said as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Well, about time you stopped running away. Is that all you know how to do?" Vegeta taunted but Sulfus erupted into laughter.

"Not even! You know so little, Vegeta. You never even heard of us, Freezer did such a thorough job of maintaining your ignorance, haha!" Suddenly, Sulfus's face became composed as he looked at Vegeta. This time, his grin turned into a sinister smile.

"W-What?" Vegeta stammered. As he couldn't do nothing more than stare back at the Kosajin, he felt a pang of uncertainty creep up in him. A vision of the last time he saw his father alive, as he was taken hostage into Freezer's camp, passed into his mind. While Vegeta was escorted into Freezer's ship, the king watched as regal as always. Very few people could ever read King Vegeta's expression but to his son, the pain and desperation in his eyes was evident. The monarch had lost his two wives and was now losing his son. _Why am I thinking of this now?_

"Freezer had his secrets." Sulfus continued. "But Cooler, Dudan and myself kept even more from him and, by association, from you!" Suddenly Sulfus powered up violently. The ground swelled around him and was blown in the air. The block around them shook while bright light radiated from the Kosajin, forcing Vegeta to shield his eyes. "You probably remember Djoukien, don't you? Got killed a few days ago by your group? I knew him pretty well, we were partners actually. Well, I'll tell you just this, that he wasn't the last, if you know what I mean. Now I'll bury you with your ignorance!"

While Vegeta gasped at the meaning of the words, the Kosajin bursted forth at tremendous speed. Too shocked at both the speed and the words, the Saiyan didn't move. Using his advance as momentum, Sulfus delivered a hard punch that sent Vegeta flying through the air. He passed through several buildings before making a painful landing in the ground, face first and no longer moving.

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"There!" Lulu shouted.

Lulu, Trunks and 18 descended and approached an opening the mountain range. Soon they were standing at the mouth of a giant cave, towering above them by almost a hundred feet. At each side of the entrance was an equally gigantic dark orange painting of two creatures vaguely resembling a cross between the sun and Earth's minotaur.

"What is this place?" Trunks asked as he marvelled at the frescoes.

"A sacred place for a primitive civilization. Hold on." Lulu responded almost dismissively. She took out her communicator to try to reach the Jubians that were supposed to be inside looking for the Power Stone.

_Too bad._ Trunks thought. _Gohan would've loved to see this. _The bright red rocks lit up like a fire in the sunshine. The grotto was perfectly sculpted by the years and by ancient tools. So taken up he was with the spectacle that Trunks almost missed an energy signature that rose up suddenly from within.

"Oh no, I'm picking up something!" He said.

"You're telling me, I can't get a signal." Lulu complained.

"No, it's too late for that!"

"Trunks, what are you talking about?" 18 asked.

"Those people inside, they're in trouble."

"No way!" Lulu yelled. She immediately powered up and flew inside at a frantic speed, with Trunks and 18 closely behind. As they went deeper and deeper into the mountainside, they sped through the corridors as quickly as they could in search of the team. The tunnels were almost like a maze but Trunks kept extending his senses to detect anything.

"Lulu, they're behind that wall there!" He yelled.

"Hang on, we're coming!" With a powerful scream, Lulu charged her ki around her and flew through the wall, causing it to explode in a burst of rocks. On the other side they were now in a large cavernous chamber.

"What is… oh no…" 18's words were reduced to a whisper as they all took a look at their new surroundings.

Littered on the floor were an incredible number of bodies. Some of them were burned, others had holes in them, bathing in a pool of fresh blood. In the middle of the chamber stood only two remaining figures. One of them was a slender man with an air mask and goggles hiding his frightened and pained face. The other person was holding him by his head with his left hand, several inches above the ground. The stranger's appearance sent a chill down Lulu's spine. It was a giant of a man, almost nine feet tall, with bulging limbs the size of tree trunks. Pupil-less grey eyes highlighted a perfectly round and bald head. On almost all his body, save for his arms, he wore thick red and black armour that was attached in pieces.

"What is this? The general of the Jubians!" The giant spoke in a booming voice.

"D-Dudan!" Lulu whispered.

"You got to be kidding me." 18 muttered. Trunks didn't say a word as he waited for Dudan's first move. The warlord laughed.

"Haha, yes you guessed it right! I'm glad to see you here, General Lulu, as well as your Earth 'saviours'. You've come at my moment of triumph!" Dudan mocked as he raised his right hand that was holding a large purple-pink gem. Lulu. Trunks and 18 gasped in shock at the Power Stone's presence in their enemy's grasp. "You see, you're not going to save anyone… certainly not this poor fool!" With that, he crushed the other man's skull in between his fingers. Lulu's heart exploded in anger at the loss of both the Stone and the cruel death of her compatriot.

"No, you monster! You won't get away with this!" She screamed and she flew at Dudan, not noticing his eyes take on a brighter glow.

"Lulu!" Trunks yelled in his turn but Lulu wouldn't hear him in time. In a flash, Trunks powered into Super Saiyan and quickly leapt at Lulu just as yellow beams shot out from Dudan's eyes. The beams instantly grew into the diameter of an arm and Lulu realized to her horror that she couldn't avoid them.

Trunks stretched his arm as much as he could and he managed to grab one of Lulu feet. He abruptly pulled on it and swung the girl to the side to the floor, where she rolled in a rough and painful landing. Then the Saiyan twisted his body in midair to avoid the beam himself in time. He was only partially successful. While he avoided most of the blasts, part of one beam ripped into his right shoulder. Trunks let out a pained scream as he landed, stumbling.

"What! Trunks, no!" Lulu yelled when she realized the Saiyan had taken the blow in her place. 18 was too stunned and shocked to say or do anything.

_N-no way. With only one blow!_ Trunks' thoughts ran through his head at frantic speed.

"Hehe. That was very courageous of you." Dudan taunted as he flexed his left arm. "Now I'll end this silly war like I end all others. With my victory!" He punched Trunks in the head and the young Saiyan was imbedded into a wall where he lost consciousness.

"Trunks, what are we going to do? I'm so sorry…" Lulu let a tear roll down her cheek while Android 18 rushed to her side.

"Lulu, are you alright? We gotta do something!" She said with a hint of despair.

"Oh, there's nothing you can do." Dudan said, smirking. "You either surrender… or you die!"

END OF PART NINE


	12. Ch 10: Fall of Heroes

**QUEST FOR POWER:**

THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 10

Lulu and Android backed up from Dudan, terrified at his strength. The Warlord on the other hand relished at the dread in their eyes.

"You know, if you had agreed to give the Power Stone in the first place, you wouldn't be in this position." Dudan said, prompting Lulu to temporarily forget her fear.

"And do what?" she snapped back. "Allow you to go on destroying and killing throughout the galaxy? Get real, you creep!" Dudan stopped and smirked.

"I don't understand what it concerns you what I would do to the rest of the galaxy if I were to let you and your people live." He replied. "You don't make any sense and yet you're a general."

"Yes I do! How can I let you go on and kill billions no matter what it does to me! I'd fight every last piece of trash like you until the end of time, until everyone can have the right to live in peace and everyone gets justice!"

"Justice? Evil?" Dundan said, his face expressing slight surprise. "Is that what bothers you, that I'm some sort of great 'evil' being out to enslave? Hahaha, you truly are ridiculous!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" 18 asked.

"I am a mercenary. To be evil would suggest that I had a heart that can be affected by such nonsense as good or evil. To be a mercenary is all about the money, there's no place for having a heart for things, whether it's good or evil!" Dundan yelled back before taking a neutral expression. "You see there are many types of people, many types of fighters. There are those who value petty issues and personal feelings and then there are those who see what's truly important. When Warlords, Warchiefs and Generals including myself founded the Planet Traders Guild, it was inevitable that there'd be a mix of such people."

"What are you talking?" 18 asked somewhat in curiosity but also to buy time. _Gohan, Piccolo, anyone, if you can sense this creep, please help!_

"To give a good example, take Freezer." Dudan began to explain. "That flake had none of the qualities of his parents and all of their worst faults, magnified in fact. King Cold brought his sons and his kingdom into the fold because all he saw was his concept of power and control. More power, more control. He saw himself as a grand conqueror. But what does that achieve, to live for that and then what? But his second son was worse. Combine those same desires with the vanity and self-consciousness of a bleeding-heart youth and you get a grown brat who bristles at any challenge."

"Bleeding heart? I thought Freezer was a cold-hearted evil tyrant?" Lulu said.

"Oh, Freezer had a heart. It's just that it was completely evil but he had a heart. Which is useless. He was the worst of the worst, a spoiled brat prone to violent tantrums even as an adult. His problems with his self-image and insecurity were like a cancer. Freezer took anything at heart, like a slap to the face. All he could think about was conquering and conquering more, he became more obsessed even as his conquests grew, he felt like he had to live to his image. You see, it was all because Freezer had a weak heart and the more successes he had, the deeper his insecurities and his need for control grew. That is blind conquest, for the sake of control, for the 'glory' of being conqueror. That comes from being consumed by emotions, in this case evil emotions. That's what having a heart means and it's useless."

"But then why would you have tolerated that if you despised the Colds? And why do you do those things yourself?" Lulu asked.

"King Cold and his ilk were still useful partners, the senior founders of the Guild recognized that. And not all of them were like that. Cooler was a prime example of what it takes to be a mercenary. It's not about being evil, it's all about pure business and being heartless!"

"W-what?" 18 stammered. She liked even less the explanation that she perceived.

"Yes, what I do is not evil because I don't let my heart, regardless of if it's good or evil, interfere with logic." Dudan coolly continued. "Just the way to be if you want to be a mercenary, you have to be completely heartless. It's not about some vain notion of conquest or glory for you're left with nothing with those things. No, it's strictly about… the greatest of opportunities ever!" Dudan's entire facial expression contorted into a sinister grin.

"What?" Lulu almost screamed. "You'd kill millions of people just so you can get rich!"

"There are tons of ways to get rich without destroying everything!" 18 contended. _He's more insane than he thinks!_

"Oh no, you don't know what we Guild leaders know." Dudan replied. "Money and resources, that is true lasting power. With money, everything is possible. And at the Planet Trader's Guild we merely barter our fighting skills for the most lucrative business in the universe! An enemy you want to get rid of? Who do you think would handle such task? A threat someone wants removed? We remove it. If a rebellion needs to be squashed by someone, we do it. Or even sometimes, a rebel force will pay us to overthrow a government. And you'd be surprised how many times we'd be asked to 'solve' an overpopulation problem!" Dudan laughed.

"Ugh! Y-you sick…" 18 started. Lulu's disgust also prevented her from saying anything.

"Can't stomach it, girls?" Dudan said smirking sinisterly. "Like I said, it's not about being evil. It's about being heartless and seeing the bigger picture, this is only for the strong. And with this, the possibilities are endless!" he said as he brought the Power Stone to his face. The large multi-faceted gem sat comfortably within the giant's palm. In spite of being highly polished, it held a very dull glow. But Dudan couldn't contain the hunger in his expression as he admired it. "With this, I have the power to dictate any contract I get, that is how much my services will be worth. Even the other leaders in the Guild won't have access to such an asset. This will truly set me apart like nothing else!"

Idiot, it's useless without the Scroll! At least if Chen can get them here in time… 18 thought darkly. 

"You heartless creep! There are more important things than money and power, how can you do this just for some stupid Stone! And so you can kill more people for money after? This makes no sense!" Lulu yelled.

"I gave you a chance to allow me to look the Power Stone peacefully. I never intended to destroy your race but now you see what you have forced me to do? Why would you care what happened to others if I let your people survive? That truly made no sense." Dudan asked.

"No, we won't let you go on and destroy innocent lives, no matter who, no matter where!" The Jubian said and she took a defensive position, followed by the Android. Dudan merely shook his head.

"Again with that sentimentality and no logic. This is why I say don't have a heart. A heart will kill you!" he countered. With that, he started to glow with a light grey aura, causing the cave to shake violently. While the girls struggled to keep their positions, Dudan, smirking, lifted his left arm towards them. "I can't say I won't enjoy this."

"Crap!"Android 18 muttered.

Lulu and 18 jumped to their respective sides, feeling the searing heat of Dudan's beam as it passed where they were standing only a moment before. The blast continued its trajectory and dug into the far wall. The resulting explosion took out a huge portion of the terrain and the mountain started to crumble and cave in on itself.

"18, we need to get out of here!" Lulu yelled.

The two women leapt up and raced through falling chunks of rock. They kept firing off small ki bursts to keep the falling mountain's debris from hitting them. Finally they made it into the fresh air high above. Lulu and 18 looked down as half the mountain range crumbled into a cascading pile of rubble while a dust cloud rose into the atmosphere, blinding the girls.

"Oh no, Trunks!" Lulu cried out when she realized they couldn't get the Saiyan.

"I can't find his ki with the explosion, damnit!" 18 exclaimed as she tried to use her abilities to scan. Suddenly something flashed through her sensors. "Look…!"

Before 18 could warn her, Lulu was sent flying back by a ki blast to the stomach. An oversized hand reached out and punched 18 in the face, causing her to land awkwardly in the ground. It took several moments before the Android struggled to get up but Dudan was once again rapidly upon her with a kick to the ribs. 18 flew back several feet before landing hard on her back. She coughed out blood as pain shot through her entire body. A broken nose, a broken right forearm and several cracked ribs registered to her systems.

"D-damnit!" She cried out desperately, her own blood threatening to drown her pleas.

"I don't understand why you Earthlings wanted to interfere in something that never regarded you." Dudan called out, mocking. "But I'm glad I was able to get intelligence on you just in case. What did you hope to accomplish here, a bunch of weaklings protecting lives that weren't your own! None of you could defeat me." Tucking away the Power Stone in his suit, Dudan charged another blast in his hands.

"Y-you jackass… C'mon, give me your best shot!" 18 screamed as she managed to get on her feet.

The brilliant light from Dudan's energy blast forced the Android to cover up her eyes as she waited for what would be her death knell. Suddenly, a thin shadow moved in front of the blast, surprising both of them. A flash lit up, the explosion scattering more debris and dust in the area. Completely blinded and deafened, coughing uncontrollably, 18 waited for a few moments until the light, the noise and the wind had settled to allow her to see what happened. Just as she uncovered her face, a body feel back into her arms.

"Lulu!" 18 screamed as she finally understood that the Jubian had thrown herself into the path of the blast. She knelt down slowly, cradling Lulu in her arms, but it was painfully clear that she was lost already.

"D-damnit…" Lulu muttered through clenched teeth, tears swelling in her eyes. Her body, once pristine, was now completely charred with open wounds spewing blood all over. "I failed… everyone… Trunks… Chen… my people…"

"Don't talk, you're agitating yourself, you gotta save your energy… please, you gotta stay…" 18 pleaded, her own tears flowing freely. _Is this what it's like to be a 'hero', you gotta watch people you love die?_

"I can't… this hurts too much, this is it… we gotta win… every life… stop him… I'll miss Chen so much, tell him…" Lulu's lips stopped moving at once, a last gasp escaping from them as her life escaped from her body.

"Lulu, damnit, stay with me!" 18 screamed, her heart breaking in two. She settled down after a few moments. "You were my first close friend, I'll miss you…"

"How… quaint. And charming. This was unexpected but it won't matter." Dudan's cold voice rang out from right beside 18, sending chills down her spine. Without turning to look at him, she could feel him smirking cruelly. "Now perhaps you'd like to join your friend!"

Android 18 wrapped her arms tighter around Lulu's body and closed her eyes shut. With her injuries, it was worthless to try running away. She felt the searing heat of Dudan powering up another blast. A bang resounded and a strong but brief gust disappeared almost as soon as it came but no pain registered with 18. Instead a familiar voice called out.

"18, are you ok?…" Piccolo started before his eyes fell on the Jubian's still body. He felt a lump in his throat and he understood immediately. A pang of guilt and anger struck him. _Certainly Goku would've been here in time to save her._ He never had such a thought before and he quickly buried it.

"Piccolo, she's gone…" 18 spoke softly.

"I-I see…" The Namek replied. He took a glance in Dudan's general direction. The Warlord was sent flying and crash landing several hundred feet away by Piccolo's strong kick. Piccolo quickly handed 18 the senzu bean he had. "Here."

"Thank you." The Android instantly recovered her health.

"Where's Trunks?"

"He's down… somewhere in the rubble, we didn't have time to get him out. I don't know what happened to him." She answered downcast.

"Damnit! He can't have… You need to get out of here!"

"What? Wait, what about you?"

As if on cue, the earth shook. The wind picked up dramatically as Dudan's aura flared in the distance.

"Go, I'll keep him busy." Piccolo ordered.

"But…"

"Go!"

Nodding silently, 18 gathered Lulu's corpse in her arms and flew off. She struggled not to be overwhelmed by her emotions. _Kami, all this death… If I had continued to do bad things, is this what I would've done?_

Piccolo didn't flinch when the giant Dudan landed in front of him, lifting a cloud of dust. As they faced off silently for a few moments, the Warlord growled, suppressing his anger at being kicked so unceremoniously.

"So you're Dudan." Piccolo finally stated simply.

"So another bug has come to be squashed!" Dudan boasted, his voice booming.

"You know, the last loser who said something like that is now a footnote in history." Piccolo replied, which caused Dudan to laugh loudly.

"Haha! And I suppose you killed that being?" He mocked. "No, certainly not you! I bet it was Goku who defeated that warrior. Or maybe Gohan. Or Trunks maybe? Anyone but you, Piccolo, you couldn't be a hero. You don't hold the power!"

"Bastard!" The Namek retorted, his blood starting to boil. "I got more power than you think!"

"You! Don't kid me, Piccolo. What have you accomplished that can compare? What was your biggest sole contribution? You always needed others, you relied on the far stronger Goku."

"I never needed anyone, you hear!" Piccolo yelled back, his anger near its peak. "I'm my own man, a man of power and one who'll use it to defend others!" A dark thought rang again in his head. _Goku would've saved Lulu._ He struggled to mentally strangle the thought.

"Why do you hide yourself in such delusions, Namek?" Dudan continued his taunting. "Look at the Human warriors, they never thought for a minute that they couldn't win without Goku, did they? No, they accepted their status as weaklings and went along with it, learning to live with it on the battlefield. But you? You keep living with your delusions of grandeur, that you're a warrior of power, that you are still the equal of Goku. And yet, more than anyone else, even the Humans, you find yourself constantly in need!"

"Shut up! I need nothing, I need no one! I'm as strong as the best!" _Goku would've saved Lulu._

"Yes, that must be what you keep telling yourself, isn't it? That you're somehow a worthy warrior, someone to contend with. Well come test your so-called power against a truly formidable opponent!"

"Gladly!" _Goku…_

The two warriors rushed each other simultaneously and collided in a single huge burst of energy. A wave of energy swept the land, blowing away everything in its path. The light faded to reveal that the two had tried to ram each other with their left elbows at the same time. They were matched left arm to left arm, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder.

"Heh… eh?" Dudan wondered out loud. They seemed to be equally matched in this position. _How is this possible? He has nowhere near this power… Wait, what!_ He stared at Piccolo's expression. It seemed like the Namek was looking past him. His eyes glowed with a strong hint of danger. And his facial expression held anger beyond anything he had seen. _This can't be, it's as if this isn't the same person as ten seconds ago!_

"I'm stronger than you, Goku!" The Namek screamed.

The evil Warlord was caught by surprise as much by the words as by the resounding punch that connected with his jaw. He stumbled backwards and left himself open to an elbow to the face.

"Mfft… What!" Dudan exclaimed as he held his bloodied nose.

Piccolo didn't relent in his assault. He punched Dudan in the stomach, causing him to double over, and then delivered an uppercut before sending him to the ground with a spin kick. _No, he doesn't have that kind of power._ Dudan thought grimly as he got back to his feet, clutching his jaw with one hand. He felt Piccolo coming upon him.

"No, this ends here!" Dudan growled.

He turned in time to catch Piccolo's kick with his right hand. And just as suddenly as it started, the Namek's attack was stopped. The Warlord delivered a hard punch to Piccolo's chest, knocking the wind out of him, then he head butted him solidly. Piccolo was still getting his bearings together when Dudan slammed both his fists down on his shoulders. The Namek couldn't keep the painful yelp from escaping his lips and he crumbled to his knees. Dudan picked him up by the back of his neck and brought their faces close together.

"Ah, much better!" He exclaimed triumphantly. "I don't know how your power grew so incredibly for that little while but I'll count that as a fluke. That's over with and you're no more advanced than you were before. I told you, you are worthless!"

Piccolo was barely listening. He felt dizzy from the blows, his body wrecked by pain and his brain kept churning out more insecurities that he had kept inside. _I can't lose. If not for everyone else, at least for me. I can be strong, as strong as Goku. I was that strong once…_ Dudan continued his victory taunt, oblivious to whether the Namek was listening.

"You know what's interesting? I once heard of a story about a legendary Super Namek. Incredible and entertaining, you can imagine! Hahaha, what a ridiculous story! There's no proof that it ever existed, it's all a myth. But it's fun to hear. If you thought you could pull off some 'Super Namek' thing on me, it seems you were mistaken. See, even if there was some truth to it, it wouldn't come from you. Because you're too weak, Piccolo, you wouldn't be it. So there will be no rise of the Super Namek, at least not with you! Hahahaha…!"

Again, a deafening series of explosions rocked the entire landscape. Dudan turned in the direction of the city where it seemed the blast came from and was surprised by the sight. Like a second sun over the planet, the carrier that he commanded and brought down to the planet was now a gigantic fireball.

"What! My carrier! How is that possible? Hmmm, I'm going to have to look into this and find another way off this damn planet." Dudan mused.

While the Warlord was distracted, Piccolo felt his deepest reflections overcome him. _I am strong!_

As soon as Dudan turned his head back to the Namek, Piccolo kneed him in the chest, forcing him to let go. Dudan bounced back away for a few feet.

"I… am strong!" Piccolo muttered, his words slurred slightly from both the pain and his raging emotions that now overtook his very personality. Every insecurity he had concerning his place fought lashed out against the part of him that wanted to prove himself to the world.

"You-you insignificant worm!" Dudan cursed, forgetting his typical self-control. "You still think you're something? I'll make something out of you, a corpse!"

With that Dudan leapt high in the air and powered up to his max. He raised his right hand and in a few moments concentrated all his power in it. It glowed yellow up his forearm all the way to the elbow. He looked carefully at Piccolo to make sure his aim was true and was almost taken aback again by the Namek's features.

Piccolo's aura flared red and occasional red sparks of electricity crackled over his body. Meanwhile, his pupils had completely disappeared behind an eerie red glow. Strangely, the Namek seemed to barely acknowledge his opponent's presence and actions. He stood in a position of extreme tension, teeth clenched and fists tightened. Piccolo seemed to be battling his emotions rather than Dudan. _What is the meaning of this?_ Dudan asked himself. He quickly shrugged off the hesitation and the questioning though.

"You die now!" Dudan screamed as he fired the blast he had prepared. At the tip of a yellowish beam was a gigantic sphere of energy that barrelled towards the Namek.

As if he only now noticed the danger, Piccolo adjusted his position and, with great difficulty, caught the blast with his bare hands. His aura started to burn even brighter as he struggled against the beam. Dudan kept pouring energy into it but to no avail.

"I am strong! I need no one. I win… or I die by my own strength alone!" Piccolo yelled.

_Now what?_ Dudan couldn't help but wonder at what was going on. _It's like he's no longer himself, like he's a… No, this will end here and now!_ His resolve strengthened and his cool returned, he tried to assess the power of his opponent. After a few moments when the struggle seemed decidedly even, Dudan felt like the peak of the Namek's power had been reached.

"As I said before, there will be no rise of the Super Namek!" He stated coolly.

With that, Dudan poured in a much greater surge of energy. It travelled quickly down the beam and into the ball at the tip. The blast grew exponentially and this time Piccolo couldn't contain it. It enveloped him completely until he had literally disappeared in it. It continued to grow until all the pent up energy finally exploded. The entire planet shook and a mushroom cloud rose to the upper limits of the atmosphere.

Dudan shielded himself from his own blast with his arms and was even pushed back a bit. When the howling of the winds died, he finally took a look at his work. From the air he scrutinized the area carefully for a few long moments until finally he grinned evilly with great satisfaction. There was no trace of Piccolo.

END OF PART TEN


	13. Ch 11: Urban Warfare

**QUEST FOR POWER:**

THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 11

Rhoderu ran as fast as her scrawny eleven-year-old legs could muster. Tears of terror ran down her cheeks and she searched frantically for her way back. In a moment of panic, she got separated from her father as they were trying to make their way to the evacuation ships and, not knowing what to do, she broke into a desperate run. Her beloved city was no longer recognizable. Buildings that weren't half-toppled were in flames while the streets were now littered with rubble and bodies. Meanwhile, the shrill screams of planes clashing, their guns blazing and their bombs dropping, continued to ring horrifyingly above.

Rhoderu couldn't think straight anymore. She doesn't how long she had been running for. Maybe a few minutes? Her legs ached from the effort but it didn't matter. She just had to continue running away from the scenery, even if she didn't know where she had to go to. Her fear and her instinct just kept her legs moving on their own.

Suddenly, a giant slab of concrete slammed into the ground mere inches from her, almost crushing her. Emitting a small yelp, Rhoderu abruptly changed directions and ran into a nearby alley.

"Papa!" she screamed out desperately. But her father was too far to hear her now.

When she got on the other side of the alley, Rhoderu was shocked to see Planet Traders' troopers pouring into the neighbouring street, randomly firing at Jubian military and civilians alike. The Jubian soldiers were being cut down one by one even as they struggled to protect the population as well as themselves. Rhoderu's eyes swelled again and she ran back in the direction she came from.

"PAPA!" she yelled out again from fear.

"What the…!" said one Traders' mercenary at the added commotion.

"PAPA!"

"Rhoderu! Rhoderu!" Rhoderu's heart almost skipped a beat when she heard a voice calling out her name.

Rhodan quickly pulled out from the shadow of a nearby building. He stopped briefly to catch his breath. After running for so long his lungs felt like they had needles in them. His face was pale from the effort. He scanned his surroundings desperately to find out where he was. His mind was working so furiously he couldn't properly make out where he was or where he came from. All he could think about was retrieving his daughter after losing sight of her while they attempted to make their way to the continuing evacuation. _If something happened to her…_

"PAPA!" Rhodan whipped his head around in the direction of that familiar voice. He saw a teary eyed little girl dashing madly towards him.

"Rhoderu!" he yelled as he rushed to his daughter. He knelt to embrace the crying girl in his arms.

"Oh, Papa!" Rhoderu couldn't stop her sobbing.

"It's ok, sweetie. Everything's going to be o…"

The sound of weapons loading drew the pair's attention to their surroundings. Without realizing it, they had been spotted and surrounded by a handful of enemy soldiers. Their guns pointed ominously at them.

"Well, too bad for you nothing will be ok. Waste 'em boys!" spoke one of them.

"I'm sorry, Papa…" Rhoderu said.

"It's ok, I'm here with you no matter what." Rhodan tried to console her.

Rhodan and Rhoderu closed their eyes and held each other tighter, waiting for their final moments. A quick series of blasts echoed and a tremendous amount of heat engulfed the father/daughter duo, causing them to flinch and whimper involuntary.

But nothing else happened. Rhoderu tentatively opened her eyes and looked around. The soldiers were all gone. Almost no trace of them was left except for one lone rifle on the ground and a pair of smoking boots with legs severed just below the knee, as if everything else had vaporized. Rhoderu wondered at the sight until she felt someone else's presence nearby. She looked up to see a tall half-naked stranger with three eyes and a slash scar across his chest.

"Eeep!" she yelped slightly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Tenshinhan said. "It's alright." Rhodan opened his eyes also to stare at the Triclops.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're one of the Earth heroes we heard about. Thank you for saving us!" he exclaimed joyously.

"I cleared the area of every enemy trooper but you guys better hurry up and get out of here." Tenshinhan continued as calmly as possible to reassure the two civilians. "The last batch of evacuation ships is over there. I'll take care of everything here."

"Thank you very much." Rhodan replied as he picked up Rhoderu in his arms. "Even though so many of us died, every help we can get is appreciated so much. We'll never forget this, sir…"

"Tenshinhan. Or Tien for short." The Triclops replied smiling fondly.

"We'll see you later, Tien!" Rhodan said and he hurried off in the direction Tenshinhan pointed out. As they went off, Rhoderu turned her head to look at the Human one more time.

"Hey mister! Kick their butts!" she yelled. The Triclops couldn't help but smile at the quip.

Once he knew they were in safety, Tenshinhan released a breath he didn't know he had held since he rescued the pair. He had never realised how much it meant to save lives when he never met those people he helped. The fights in the fields far away from anyone had seemed to almost trivialize the danger in comparison to this battle. Again, Tenshinhan stood between life and oblivion for countless people but he doesn't remember ever seeing the terror stricken eyes, the panicked screams and the tearful, thankful faces.

_That look in their eyes… They need us more than anything._ Tenshinhan thought. He looked up as the activity in the air had seemed to grow heavier in the last few moments. More planes from both sides buzzed around overhead. Worse, a giant shadowy profile developed over the skyscrapers as the gigantic aircraft carrier drew closer to launch its planes quicker still. _Why did they ever have to come?_ The Triclops felt his emotions boiling up.

Tenshinhan abruptly flew up in a burst of ki energy, speeding through incoming weapons fire. The Planet Traders ships spiralled to dodge him as best as they could. Meanwhile his aura only grew with his anger.

"Why don't you go back where you came from!" Tenshinhan yelled, challenging the opposing force. "Get out of here!"

The Triclops powered up and quickly sent a flurry of a dozen ki balls to destroy enemy ships. Some fighters shot back at him but he used his aura to shield himself from the blasts. Another plane sped directly at Tenshinhan but he slammed into it, sending it careening into others and crashing them. In a flash, the odds seemed reversed again in favour of the Jubians.

"Well that's better… What!" Tenshinhan started to comment when he felt Timber's presence behind him. He turned around just in time to block the Kosajin's punch.

"You're starting to get on my nerves, Earthling!" Timber cursed.

"And you're going to do something about it?" Tenshinhan mocked before receiving a blow to his face.

"Take this!" Timber a rapid series of beams from his eyes that the Triclops had to block as best as he could with his arms as shields.

_Damn, I shouldn't have made him mad. And there's still all those ships and that stupid carrier I need to get too!_ Tenshinhan thought while under constant fire from the eye beams.

Suddenly the beams were interrupted. Tenshinhan looked on as Timber was blasted back in the air by Yoshuro's ship.

"What!" Tenshinhan marvelled. Yoshuro's ship approached him and from the pilot seat, the smiling Jubian gave the Triclops a 'thumbs up'.

"The guys at the base managed to fit my ship with some pretty nifty stuff!" Yoshuro said through loudspeakers. "I'll help with the planes while you take care of that creep, what do you think?"

Tenshinhan nodded his approval and looked back at Timber. Yoshuro's attack had projected the Kosajin several dozen feet further up in the air. Trying to regain his senses, he now floated directly between Tenshinhan and what appeared to be the carrier's enormous intake. _Is that the carrier's engine?_ Tenshinhan thought. _Well, two birds, one stone…_

"Is that the best you can do? Being blown up by a single little Jubian in his ship?" Tenshinhan hissed intentionally.

"Y-you pathetic excuse for a warrior! How dare you insult me, I am an Elite!" an angry Timber spit back, a vein almost popping out of his forehead.

"In that case, why don't you give me your best shot? I doubt you could beat me with it!" Tenshinhan countered. Meanwhile he focused his mind as intensely as possible.

"Gladly! High Special Beam!" Timber yelled back. He brought his hands forwards and, concentrating all his power in a few short seconds, he fired an immense bolt of crackling energy. Tenshinhan continued to prepare his mind, then he abruptly joined his hands together in a ball with his index fingers pointing upwards together. Timber's beam meanwhile had almost completely closed the distance between the two fighters.

"TSUHOOOOO!" came Tenshinhan's loud cry. Timber's Special Beam seemed to hit an invisible wall mere inches away from the Triclops. It immediately bounced back and was sent flying back in the direction it came from.

"W-what?" Timber was shocked as his own blast was sent back speeding back towards him. Without any time to remove himself from the path of the beam in time, he resorted to trying to block and catch it with his hands but the force of it pushed him back. "Unnnhhh… How the hell… No!"

Timber turned his head only to see the huge intake seemingly grow incredibly in size as he got closer to it at a furious pace. His horrified screams were completely deafened by the sound of the engine. Into it went the blast, and the Kosajin attached to it. The engine erupted into several explosions until finally the entire ship itself blew up in a single giant fireball. The sky lit up in a blinding flash and the shockwave blew away anything nearby. Planes, building tops, even Tenshinhan was thrown forcibly into a skyscraper.

Several minutes passed before Tenshinhan could extract himself from the side of the tower. He looked to see that both sides had resumed fighting, but without the carrier to bring enemy reinforcements, the Jubians were now decidedly winning the air war. On the other side of the city, the last remaining transport ships used for evacuation were now on their way out. Tenshinhan was about to take a breath of relief when he stopped himself, suddenly realising something.

"What the… I can't feel Piccolo's ki!" he cried out.

"Tenshinhan!" someone called out. The Triclops looked in the direction of the voice to see Android 18 flying towards him, carrying Lulu.

"Lulu! 18, I got the senzu beans!"

"No, it's too late for her." 18 responded sadly. Tenshinhan felt shocked and saddened as much by Lulu's death as by 18's expression. She was definitely not the killer they thought of her before. "I couldn't help them…"

"It's ok…" The Triclops tried consoling her as best as he could. "And Piccolo?"

"I think he went to face Dudan himself and… I should've stopped him!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face.

"He wouldn't have let you! Piccolo did what he did because he wanted to see you get out of there." Tenshinhan responded firmly, almost startling the Android. "I'm sorry, 18. I can't believe Lulu died too, I feel sorry for Chen. And Trunks and Piccolo were like family. But right now we need to see if we can live first so we can mourn later. Let's go find Vegeta real quick."

18 nodded silently, her confidence slightly boosted, as she handed Lulu's body to the Triclops. They immediately flew off to find the Prince.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

_Now where'd he go? _Sulfus thought as he searched through the city. He finally spotted the body he was looking for. Vegeta was lying face down, apparently unconscious.

"Well, so much for that famous Saiyan pride, Vegeta? Hmmm?" Sulfus picked up the Saiyan by his hair and brought him to his face. Still no movement registered. "Heh, that couldn't have been that easy. That'd be too bad. I wonder what Cerion's up to now?" He said aloud.

Looking up in the sky, with his sharp eyesight, Sulfus spotted a blue floating object in the far distance. He immediately recognized as a force field, sparkling with energy and electricity, erected by his mysterious companion. _Probably fighting the child, Son Gohan._ He concluded. _Still she's hiding something from me. Not that I care! But…_ Sulfus fixated his gaze on Cerion's whereabouts. _How long have I known her now? Meh, and she's still as inscrutable as before!_ Bigger explosions nearby brought his attention back to his immediate surroundings. _This isn't good, our forces are losing here! Dudan overe…_ "Ughhh!"

Sulfus's train of thought was interrupted by the impact of Vegeta's boot to his jaw. He tumbled and rolled on the ground for a few feet before struggling to get back up but already the Super Saiyan was on him.

"I must admit the Namek has a few useful tricks I can pick up." Vegeta stated as he began to pummel Sulfus with punches. "You never should've made the mistake of challenging me. All I can see when I look at you is Freezer's ugly mug. The man who kidnapped me! Took me from my father, from my birthright, from my THRONE!"

Sulfus was sent sprawling to the floor with a thunderous blow that forced his left eye shut. He struggled to get back up as Vegeta approached him slowly but with a deadly assurance in his eyes.

"My life robbed from me… to toil away as a slave for twenty years. Twenty long years. Do you have any idea how long that is? Well to me it was an eternity!"

Vegeta rushed Sulfus and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying for a short distance. As he landed painfully, Sulfus coughed out dirt and blood.

"My life, my family, my entire race… everything that ever went wrong with my life because of your people. I don't care if Freezer's not here now, you'll have to take his blame!" Vegeta said.

As he spoke, a shockwave suddenly hit the city, blowing almost everything, and the sky temporarily became a thousand times brighter. Only then did they hear the continuous roar of Dudan's lead aircraft, the massive carrier that endlessly sent out more fighter planes, exploding in a giant blast. Vegeta grinned.

"Well, seems like the Human did alright for himself." He approached Sulfus as he was still reeling from his blows on the ground and picked him up by his neck. "And you've lost your ticket home." But he felt his assurance slip slightly as Sulfus grinned back.

"Heh, a fool like you wouldn't know that you shouldn't touch a Kosajin who can master his element!"

Sulfus opened his mouth wide and spit out a column of fire. Vegeta was instantly engulfed in flames and he let go of the Kosajin as the fire burned his skin. He took a quick roll in the ground and using his own energy at the same time he put out the flames. He wasn't particularly hurt, just enough to be warned. _Damn, gonna have to watch out for that!_ He thought. Meanwhile Sulfus had taken a couple of leaps backwards to put some distance between himself and the enraged Saiyan.

"That should teach you why my name is Sulfus!" He countered, tentatively opening his bruised left eye and wiping the blood from his mouth. "And you should know better than to give me a lesson in morality, Princeling. And I've done far more for the Saiyans than your conceited head would have!"

"Shut the hell up! What do you have to do with my people? You said that they were alive, how the hell is that possible?" Vegeta yelled back. Sulfus smirked in spite of his annoyance at the Saiyan.

"Yeah. Cooler and Dudan anticipated that Freezer wanted to exterminate your race long before he destroyed your planet. They figured they were too useful to let die so we conspired to save a few dozen of them. While most of the leaders of Planet Traders were in the know and even some Kosajin figures were let in on this, we managed to keep it a secret from King Cold and Freezer. Those two were too proud of themselves to pay attention to rumours and secrets anyways."

"What! Where the hell are they now?"

"They can be anywhere." Sulfus shrugged. "Some, like Djoukien, served us regularly while most of the others were called on only occasionally. But don't worry, Vegeta." The Kosajin smirked. "They are being well taken of. Why, better than you would've done as leader."

"You freak! I won't stand for anyone of my people serving as slaves!"

"What's this? The proud Saiyan Princeling has a conscience! Hahaha!" Sulfus mocked. Then suddenly his expression turned deadly serious. "You trash! Is it true what I heard about you? That you hardly reacted when you heard of your entire race being murdered? Is that how a ruler is supposed to act for his people!"

"I…"

"Quiet!" Sulfus' boomed. "Sure, I'm a mercenary as you once were. But don't think a change of heart, that you're fighting the 'good fight', mean anything. Cooler was worried at not having gotten you out of his brother's clutches but even he, the optimist he is, eventually saw that was not a big loss. Vegeta, you are worthless!"

Vegeta couldn't believe his ears and gritted his teeth in rage. Yet, he couldn't move, his muscles seemingly disobeying him, as Sulfus' criticism kept stinging him.

"Yes, you heard me right, you spoiled brat!" Sulfus continued. "Sure, your life may have been messed up but at the end of the day, your faults are yours alone and your responsibility. You wouldn't have been fit to lead anyway. That's why the surviving Saiyans have a leader worthy of the best in the galaxy! Your father would have been foolish not to let his second child succeed him."

"What!" Vegeta yelled out. Again Sulfus laughed.

"Yes, that's right. Your people are ruled by one born after you, Vegeta. Your sister."

Vegeta's face paled. _A s-sister?_ His mind literally burned from the day's revelations and he was once again paralysed by his thoughts. With that, Sulfus powered up more.

"Too bad for you, you get to die without seeing a sister you never knew, without seeing your own people!" He stated. Suddenly bright lights flickered all over Sulfus' body like stars. As he looked on in shock, Sulfus was wrapped in a blue field. "What the?… Cerion! What the…" He cried out before he vanished in front of Vegeta.

Vegeta looked on confused for a few long moments before everything started to take a toll on his minds. _No!_

"Vegeta!" The Prince immediately recognized the Triclops' voice. He turned to see him flying down with Android 18 at his side. For the first time in a while, maybe forever, both the Saiyan and the Human felt relieved to see each other, though either would be damned to let it show.

"You, what's going on?" Vegeta asked abruptly.

"Oh, a couple of things." Tenshinhan replied coolly as he and 18 landed. It was then that the Prince noticed Lulu's still body in 18's arms. "Lulu is dead. Piccolo and Trunks too probably. And that madman is heading this way!"

"What! That can't be." Vegeta said dumbstruck. He quickly reached out with his senses but he couldn't find either his son or the Namek. The image of Cell killing trunks replayed in his head.

Dudan's ki grew more overwhelming as the Warlord drew nearer. The Z soldiers could tell he was fighting, or rather massacring, everyone and everything in his path.

"Kami, he's close…" 18 stated nervously.

"So that's him? The reason I lost my son again?" Vegeta yelled angrily. He powered up and blasted off.

"Vegeta!… Damnit! This looks familiar." Tenshinhan said gloomily. He darted after the Saiyan immediately. 18 took a deep breath and laid Lulu on the ground.

"Well, I'm not going to sit this one down." 18 said to Lulu's body. "I may have failed you but I'll be damned if I can't help the others. Don't worry I'll be back to bury you… or not at all." She also flew off.

Meanwhile, as most of them left, some of the Jubian air force, including Yoshuro, stayed back to strike at Dudan, showering him with a barrage of laser fire. Dudan blocked them barely but his anger reached the boiling point. Tenshinhan wondered if Yoshuro would get out in time. As if answering his mental pleas, Yoshuro moved away after unleashing his artillery but the rest weren't so quick to react.

"You insects! You truly deserve to die!" Dudan bellowed. He plowed through some planes with his fists while blasting others out of the sky. A few lucky ones retreated quickly.

"Let's see how good you are against real fighters!" Vegeta yelled, already on Dudan with a kick to his waist. The blow knocked the breath out of the giant but he recovered in time to deliver a sweeping kick of his own, sending the Saiyan down to the ground.

"Does that answer your question?" he spat back.

"Try this!" Tenshinhan and 18 both yelled from behind Dudan and fired a combined beam at his back. The Warlord disappeared in the smoke from the explosion.

"Did we get him?" 18 asked.

"Don't think so." Tenshinhan replied. "But I couldn't follow him. For such a big guy, he's AAARRGHH!" The Triclops was sent hurtling to the ground below too when the giant rammed him from behind.

18 yelped and turned around in surprise to see Dudan before her. He smirked wickedly while she backed away, fearing the worst for herself. A quick glance downward showed Vegeta and Tenshinhan slowly and shakily getting back up. _Well this is it, no one to rescue me now._ The Android thought grimly.

"You're still here, after I soundly defeated you earlier?" Dudan asked sarcastically. "You're blinded by your emotions, your goodness, your heart! Really, is there anyone left who can challenge my power!"

"Yes, there's me!" came Gohan's voice. Shocked, Android 18 and Dudan turned towards the Saiyan boy. His power flickered wildly around him, lifting a sandstorm in the area. His eyes burned with a rage he hadn't felt in a long time. Slowly he powered up to Super Saiyan Two. "18, move away He's mine."

END OF PART ELEVEN


	14. Ch 12: Changing times, changing tides

**QUEST FOR POWER:**

THE WARLORD 

By Konrad

PART 12

The spaceship known simply as the 'Skylight' lay undetected in the shadow of Mesata, far from the sights of both the Jubian and the Planet Traders' Guild fleets. As a matter of fact, it would've been near impossible for them to locate it anyways. For one thing, it didn't look like anything either side would be familiar with, a medium-sized, rather short craft with a rounded front and modest gravity thrusters in the back. And second, it was cloaked with a technology centuries ahead of either side. It quietly orbited the planet at a safe distance from the fighting. That was just about the only thing that seemed peaceful at this hour. Not only was the war still raging on the outside, but on the inside as well temperatures were rising, both figuratively speaking and literally.

"What… the hell… is… the MEANING OF THIS?!" Sulfus yelled, raising his voice as he finished. Flames danced around his body, bringing an immense heat inside of the Skylight, and would've burned everything if not for a containment field around the Kosajin. Meanwhile the ship's owner merely rolled her eyes.

"Didn't I say something about not going up against Vegeta?" Cerion asked wearily. "Instead you got him mad and, if I hadn't teleported you here with my ship, he would've kicked your butt to the end of the galaxy!" She yelled back.

"That remains to be seen! And it remains my choice to fight." Sulfus spat back.

"Oh, so this is how you thank me for saving your sorry hide! Sometimes I think you're too proud for you own sake. And your obsession with fighting will get you killed!"

"First all, that second rate Saiyan is not a match for me! And second, assuming that would somehow be true, that he might be as strong as me, that still leaves me wondering as to how you knew!" Sulfus shot back. "How come you know so much about the Earth warriors and you didn't tell us, hmm? You only told me not to fight Vegeta just before the fight started. And you didn't warn everyone else and now they're all dead! Got anymore things you'd like to share with me, Cerion?!" Cerion swallowed a lump in her throat. She felt like this argument was no longer going anywhere productive.

"Sulfus, let's just calm down and…" _Why did I bother rescuing him? He's just a mortal, I shouldn't care!_

"And what? I don't know what kind of games you're up to, mind-witch…" That last comment ticked off Cerion again.

"How dare you?!… Yes, I could've let you die like Timber and Crest but I didn't! I'm only letting you on this because I want to. This is far above you and anything you can imagine." She yelled back.

"And I should believe you?"

"Believe this!" Cerion stated. Suddenly the fire surrounding Sulfus' body was extinguished. The Kosajin felt his power level take a nosedive.

"W-what? My powers?" he stammered, confusion and fear etched on his face. Cerion sighed.

"I…instantly put barriers inside your brain…mental blocks, if you will. You no longer have access to most of your powers." She stated while the Kosajin looked on livid.

"Impossible!"

"Very much possible because that's indeed what I did. Right now, you couldn't even damage my ship, let alone harm me." She said as she powered down the containment field around Sulfus and stepped forwards. Feeling weak both in his body and in his mind, Sulfus dropped to the ground. All of a sudden he realized he was insignificant. The feeling made him tremble physically.

"B-but how…" he said, his voice reduced to a hoarse whisper.

"Don't get this wrong, I can't do that on everyone, mostly the weak. On the powerful it only works when I bother to spend time exploring someone's brain or if I had done so before when they were weak. Remember all those missions we did together and how are minds could link as one? I could do that because I knew the ins and outs of your mind… and that's also what enables me today to render you powerless now."

"But I allowed you…" Sulfus said, as three decades of fighting side by side with Cerion came back to mind, with him tolerating her mind probing to increase their teamwork.

Sulfus blinked away the tears burning his eyes. He had rarely been defeated in the past. Only a few battles lost here and there. He always fought well, even those few times. Now he was humiliated like never before. Not a blast fired, not a punch thrown. No, his power simply turned off like a child would turn off the lights. And by the one person he thought he could trust more than anyone. His pride shattered, Sulfus wanted to scream at his helplessness. But no words came out from his lips, just a painful choking sound was heard. Cerion's heart nearly broke in half at the pathetic sight of her long time fighting partner.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for things to go down like this." Cerion said. _Ugh, why do I care so much? I thought being a mercenary would force these things away._ "I never told you anything because it would've blown my cover. But I really didn't want to do… this to you."

"Heh… serves me right, I guess." Sulfus replied, finding his voice again. "But… I know the job we do doesn't make it easy to gain trust, seeing as how we're not supposed to be nice or stuff like that… I just thought we were different, you and me."

_I am different, you big lug!_ "You can still… Look, I haven't explained anything to you. Come here." Cerion said as she went to the head of the ship.

Sulfus followed the mysterious woman to her piloting post and she pointed out to a particular display. Looking at it, he saw that it was a radar rendition of the battle in and around Mesata. Gradually, the fight was going downhill for Dudan's command in the Planet Traders Guild. Sulfus frowned.

"It's as I thought. We're losing badly. But how is that possible? The Jubians never dominated like this in previous space battles." He commented.

"Indeed. That's because the Guild ships weren't being quietly scrambled electronically." Cerion shrugged.

"But I thought the Jubians didn't have the technology to do it at this level."

"They don't."

"Er, but then what, or who…?" Sulfus started before the realization hit his head. "You mean you…?!"

"I've been undermining Dudan's operations for the past few months now. Nothing personal."

"But you've been with us for so long!" Sulfus countered, aghast at the revelation that Cerion had betrayed Dudan… and himself.

"Yes, but I would've had to leave eventually. I didn't figure I'd go out like this but it just looks like I'll be leaving a little earlier." Cerion mused while avoiding Sulfus' gaze.

"What do you mean? Why did you side with us then?"

"Merely for my personal experience. I come from a group of demi-gods. When we first met, I joined you…Dudan's army because I wanted to gain experience and learn how to use my powers."

"Yes, I remember the first time we met. I always thought you were something more…special. But I didn't think you were a goddess." Sulfus recalled.

"Yeah, sure." Cerion said abruptly, promptly shaking Sulfus' confidence. _Stupid! Why did I have to sound so harsh?_ "My people invented the Power Stones as last-ditch weapons against other gods a long time ago and then they were lost. Apparently my predecessors didn't think much of looking for them, they thought they were safe as is."

"And Dudan…?" Sulfus started.

"… somehow found out about them, or at least the one on Mesata." Cerion continued. "So that concerned me because from I know the Power Stones are too dangerous and should be contained once they're found."

"So that's why you sabotaged us then and now?"

"Yes, I only had the vaguest idea of the location of this Stone and besides I'm not strong enough to take on Dudan myself."

"Oh… Wait, so the Earth fighters…?!"

"I leaked that information to the Jubians. For unrelated reasons, I've been monitoring them for years whenever I had the chance. So I've always had better intel on them than Dudan. When I heard of his plan, I arranged for the Jubians to find out about the Earth warriors and bring them here. Simply, I want the Saiyan child, Gohan, to handle this." Cerion stated. Sulfus thought for a second.

"So you're not that powerful." He said.

"Not close enough, no."

"And you think the Saiyan child can do it?"

"With the proper motivation and a trump card that I'm expecting soon, he can do it." Cerion smirked slightly.

"And then what?"

"Then I claim the Stone for myself… at least until I can find a safe way to destroy it. The risks are too great for anyone, including me, to use it."

"The child's the reason you had so much information, what is it about him that's so special?" Sulfus queried.

"That's none of your concern." Cerion said wearily. She felt she had told more than enough about her plans.

"He's a 'god' too I imagine?" Sulfus asked.

"Yes, now stop asking questions!" the goddess erupted. She felt annoyed that something inside prevented her from harming the Kosajin. _I should've let him die. As a mercenary and a goddess, I'm supposed to be rational, emotionless… So why don't I just kill him and get this over with?!_

"One last question." Sulfus insisted softly. "Why me…?"

Cerion almost jumped at the tone of his voice. She turned to look at Sulfus. He held his gaze slowly downward, his fists clenched. She could tell his eyes no longer held the spirit she knew in him. Gone were his pride, his stubbornness and his liveliness, even if he used them for destruction. Gone also were the shock and despair from a few minutes earlier. Instead, Sulfus had a look of complete resignation in his eyes.

"Sulfus, I…" Cerion almost choked on her own emotions. _Because I…_ "I didn't mean for things to go down like this…"

"I just want to know… we've always been… allies…"

"Just shut up…" _Because I…_

"Am I your prisoner now for you to use? What am I to you?"

"Sulfus, please, this is not the time..."

"Just tell me." Sulfus pleaded, looking directly at Cerion's eyes, causing her to pause. "Please. Why did you spare me?"

"Because…" _Because I would die if you died._ "Because… I owe you for all the times you saved me, fair enough?"

"Yes, I suppose." Sulfus responded.

"Good. I'll be going to the planet now." Cerion stated as she pressed a few buttons on a control panel. "Sulfus, I know this is asking a lot from you at this point but, please, just trust me. Ok?" Sulfus quietly nodded. Cerion gave him a faint smile before disappearing in a blue field. Sulfus finally sighed and started to wait as patiently as he could.

Teleported by her ship, Cerion reappeared some distance from Mesata City. She leaned against a nearby rock and took deep breaths to ease her nerves. She strained to push her conversation with Sulfus out of her mind and her feelings deep inside her. She couldn't believe what she felt and what she had almost said. _Stupid… emotions… That's just for mortals! I just owed him, that's all… I owed him…_ Cerion repeated to herself until she was satisfied with her control of herself._ More important stuff to take care of now._ She almost instantly located Gohan's ki. He was obviously deep in combat with Dudan. Cerion took flight in direction of the fight and as she silently hoped for Gohan to hold on, she wondered about the talk she had with the boy.

_What a stubborn child._ Cerion mused. She made the final approach to the battlefield by foot, leaping great distances to avoid using her ki too much and alerting the others. Even if the area was literally blanketed under the two immense powers colliding, she didn't want to take any chances. Cerion chose a mountain of rubble as her hiding place. From there she watched as the struggle unfolded.

The two superpowers continued to clash over the last ruins. Every strike and each blow they delivered to each other sent shockwaves all around. Gohan relentlessly attacked, using his emotions as fuel to his fire. He tried to use his small size to dodge under Dudan's guard and landed a couple of swift blows to his jaw. But the giant kicked him with his knee and the Saiyan was airborne in an instant. Gohan stabilized himself in the air to wipe the blood from his mouth and take in a few deep breathes. In spite of the hits he landed on Dudan, he didn't seem to have progressed much. His muscles ached from the hard blows he had received. The Warlord's size added more weight to his attacks. On the other side, Dudan cursed at the apparent stalemate.

"What is this?" Dudan yelled, though no one would listen to him. "He's almost matching me. How strong is this brat? How come these Earth warriors are stronger than I had anticipated?!" Listening in from afar, Cerion smirked. Meanwhile, grouped around Lulu's body, the remnants of the Z Squad looked on in awe.

"I can't believe how strong that titan is!" Vegeta spat.

"Yeah, kinda makes you wonder how come we're nowhere in the same league." Tenshinhan added.

"What? Speak for yourself." The Prince retorted. "We lost almost half of our numbers now and this isn't going anywhere. You got any good ideas to help us finish this?"

"I got one." Someone spoke from behind them. The trio turned around to see a now familiar friendly face.

"Chen!" Android 18 cried out. She wanted to smile but then she remembered everything that happened when she saw where Chen's eyes laid. "I'm sorry, I…"

"I wish I could've made it sooner." The general spoke softly, trying to keep his voice from breaking down. "Lulu, please forgive me."

_Well, it's about time. I was afraid I got you the translations of the scrolls for nothing._ Cerion thought, smiling to herself.

"Trunks and Piccolo are also gone." Tenshinhan added.

"I'm sorry I got you guys involved in this. But I got what we need to beat him, I hope this works." Chen stated resolutely.

"I just lost my son for the second time in a few weeks, this better be worth it!" Vegeta spat. Meanwhile the battle resumed as Gohan and Dudan traded more blows and insults.

"I don't care how strong you are or who you beat before. No kid will defeat me!" Dudan said as he tried to punch Gohan but the boy ducked under his arm and came up to uppercut him.

"You don't care about anything, you monster!" The Saiyan retorted as he pummelled the tyrant. "All the destruction you caused, all the people you hurt, including my two best friends! How would you like it if someone told you when you lived and died, huh?!"

Dudan's speed abruptly picked up. Gohan had the wind knocked out of him with a punch to his gut and then the giant's massive arm was brought down on his back, causing the boy to fall.

"And who would be able to tell me that?" he replied sarcastically.

"Him, of course." Dudan turned to find Chen facing him from a safe distance. "Well, with my help that is. This better work."

"What the hell are you blabbing about?" Dudan then noticed the scroll in Chen's hand. "Wait a sec… that can't be…"

"Nemet su ri anon day amh…" Chen recited from the scroll's alien scripts. "…ech Son Gohan!!!"

_And not a moment too soon. Let's see if this thing is for real. _Cerion mused to herself. Dudan felt a rumbling in his armor and before he knew it, the Power Stone had escaped the safety of his pockets. It floated away briefly and stayed suspended in the air, all eyes cast on it in curiosity. Suddenly, it glowed at a high intensity and a beam shot out, striking Gohan as it poured its power directly into him. The Saiyan clenched his teeth from the pain as his body could barely handle it.

"Unh…too…much…No!" he cried.

"What?! No, that power is mine!" Dudan boomed, finally snapping out of his astonishment to realise what was happening. As he reached to grab the Stone, he let his guard down and Vegeta brought him down with a kick.

"You trash, for killing my son you're not getting out of this one!" Vegeta threatened.

"You should've stayed where you were, weakling!" Dudan countered as he wiped the boot mark from his face.

Meanwhile the air continued to crackle around the Power Stone as it finished giving energy to Gohan. Suddenly, A small black density appeared above it, turning into a small dark portal. Black, lightning-like tendrils extended from the portal, reaching for the Stone. Once the tendrils go a hold of it, they pulled the Power Stone with them and the portal closed in on itself.

"What the…? Was that normal?" Android 18 wondered aloud.

"Uh, not a clue, I guess?!" Chen admitted.

_What in the blazes… That didn't look like it had anything to do with the Power Stone! _Cerion thought, confused and frustrated. _That was an inter-dimensional portal opened from some other location. But what the hell is the meaning of this?_

"That's it, that power belongs to me alone!" Dudan proclaimed as he swatted Vegeta away again. With a rage he hadn't experienced in a long time, he looked at Gohan as the youth held his head down. "This game is over!"

"Gohan, look out!" Tenshinhan yelled out.

With his incredible speed, Dudan charged at the Saiyan boy and launched one of his tremendous punches. The air rippled at the impact and a whirlwind of dust swept the area. Once the smoke cleared however, everyone saw Dudan's fist caught inside Gohan's palm.

"Oh my…" Chen muttered.

"Impossible!" Vegeta cursed.

Gohan finally lifted his head slowly to stare at the Warlord, as if finally acknowledging everything around him. Everyone was shocked to see his face. It held an inscrutable blank expression with his pupils completely hidden behind a bright blue glow. Gohan's body trembled slightly, with veins popping out wherever his skin was visible, and a small sliver of drool running down from his mouth to his chin.

"Something's wrong…" 18 whispered.

"W-what is this?" Dudan exclaimed, suddenly terrified. He finally withdrew the fist that Gohan caught and tried to swing another blow but the Saiyan vanished right before him.

"How'd he do that…? There, this time you won't escape me!" He yelled when he saw Gohan reappear several feet further.

Dudan once more lunged at full speed at Gohan, his arm in the midst of delivering a terrible blow. Too quickly for him to understand what happened however, a ripple effect appeared in the air before the tyrant's fist, mere inches from Gohan's face. His punching hand was swallowed into the ripple. Almost simultaneously, a second ripple materialized right behind Dudan's head. His own punching fist jetted out the hole in space and knocked him in the back of his head. Dudan violently jerked forward from the impact only to get sent back with equal force from a kick by Gohan to his jaw. The Z Squad's fighters gaped in awe.

"D-did you see that?" Chen asked, dumbstruck.

"Uh, not sure…" Tenshinhan commented.

"This can't be…" Dudan muttered pathetically, his confidence permanently shattered.

"Power… everything…die!" Gohan hissed with an expressionless gaze. He rained a flurry of rapid ki blasts at Dudan. The Warlord fell down to the ground in a heap.

"Stop! H-he's going mad!" 18 said frantically.

"What the hell is he doing?" Tenshihan exclaimed as Gohan raised a hand above his head. He gathered a massive amount of ki and in an instant an enormous energy ball dwarfing him appeared. "That's too much power just to kill Dudan, he could blow up the entire planet!" Meanwhile, Dudan only got enough time to get on his feet only to see Gohan fling the ball at him.

"Gohan, stop!" 18 yelled as she jumped in the air but the blast was too quick to intercept.

"Nooo! This can't be!" Dudan screamed in a panic. The ball landed on top of him and he struggled for a moment to contain it. It was too much for him however. The energy pushed him into the ground and his screams disappeared with his body as he sank.

"Blast it!" Vegeta cursed. "The planet's core will blow up in a few minutes!"

"Gohan, what's wrong with you? You're going to kill us all!" 18 pleaded as she approached the Saiyan boy. He turned to her blankly, sending chills down the Android's spine. "That thing made you lose your mind, didn't it?"

"Kill…everything…" he simply replied, raising a hand towards the Android. He sent a small palm blast that was too quick for her but before it could hit, she was hit in her sides by another ki blast that pushed her out of the way.

"Stay away from him, 18!" Tenshinhan yelled after saving her from afar. "Chen, what is wrong with him? Is there anything we can do about this?"

"I-I don't know. Nothing was mentioned about this, I don't know if I can undo this!" Chen said frantically. Suddenly, Chen's screamed at the top of his lungs clutching his head with both his hands. "Arrgh! My head! It's like there are needles in my brain!"

"What the…?" Tenshinhan started when Gohan appeared in between them and swiftly kicked the Jubian away. The boy then turned his attention to the Triclops. "D-damnit!"

_Hmmm. So his Saiyan powers were augmented._ _And his godling powers over mind, space and time were accelerated also._ Cerion commented to herself, frowning._ But the power made him insane. No wonder my ancestors wanted nothing to do with these Stones after they created them._

Vegeta directed a Final Flash at Gohan as the boy downed Tenshinha, forcing the boy to block it. Chen recovered to start a barrage of ki blasts that Gohan was forced to defend against. Meanwhile Vegeta went to pick up Tenshinhan.

"You're the weakest of us, you really shouldn't be doing this." Vegeta said, finding time to comment on the Human's weakness.

"Heh, if Goku or Piccolo were here, they could maybe talk him straight or something." Tenshinhan mused as he got up. "Right now I can't think of any other solution." He quickly shot up in the air.

"Hmmm, what is with him?" Vegeta wondered. "Without Kakalotto or the Namek, it's like… Hmpf! What do I care?!"

Chen took a moment to catch his breath, a cloud from the explosions of his blasts obscuring his vision. He looked on warily trying to find any sign and tensed up. Predictably Gohan emerged from the cloud, unharmed, when Chen was the least prepared for it. The Saiyan flew at him at high speed and was about to collide with him when something blurred in front of them.

"Solar Flare!" Tenshinhan screamed as he emitted the blinding glare from his body. Gohan was stopped in his track. "That's better. Now c'mon! Gohan, snap out of it. I don't know what that thing did to you, you were able to beat Dudan but now it's over. Let go of this power, it's eating your mind. It's not you that's doing this, let it…" Tenshihan was interrupted by Gohan's hand to his throat.

"Power… must kill…no…" came the Saiyan's pained voice.

"Urrk… don't let the power… take over you…" Tenshinhan begged as he tried to loosen Gohan's grip on his neck. "Damnit… Snap out of it!!!"

"Gohan!" came Piccolo's voice from behind Gohan, causing the boy to gain a bit of focus.

"P-Piccolo?" he said meekly.

"Gohan, what are you doing?" 'Piccolo' said. "This isn't you, hurting your friends and the ones you love. You must gain control of this power. It is controlling you but you must control it. Only you can do it."

"Yes, Gohan. You don't need it." Came Goku's voice immediately after.

"Dad?" Gohan whispered. Slowly the dangerous glow in his eyes started to fade and his pupils became visible once more, betraying a sense of relief in them.

"Yes, it is me, son." 'Goku' said. "Now, let go of it. All the pain, the hurt and the anger. Let it go. You can do it."

Gohan closed his eyes and his mind latched on to his father and his mentor's voices. From within himself, he found the strength to cut through the fogginess of the Power Stone's effects overwhelming his senses. The power dissipated completely from his body and, strained from the effort of expulsing it, Gohan fainted into Android 18's waiting arms.

"Oh man!" Tenshinhan exclaimed as he rubbed the sore spot on his throat. "Great thinking! How did you do that?"

"Oh, it's nothing." 18 shrugged, more preoccupied at tending to the unconscious form in her arms. "Dr Gero programmed me and my brother with all of your voices. When you mentioned that Goku and Piccolo might've been able to talk to Gohan, I did an imitation of them. Wasn't sure if it was going to work though."

"Well it did." Tenshinshan smiled. "Thank you." The assembled fighters almost forgot their situation until a violent earthquake shook the entire landscape. The atmosphere turned orange and clouds that weren't there before moments before swirled violently high above. The weather went berserk from the destruction of the magnetic field. "Oh, right. The planet blowing up thingy." Tenshinhan sighed.

"I guess that's your Human expression of 'out the frying pan, into the fire'." Vegeta commented.

"Hey, are the big battles over?" a loud voice called from not too far. The Z Squad turned to see Yoshuro's spaceship barrelling in. "I thought it'd be a good idea to wait for you guys but, well, I can't really wait much longer."

"Thank Kami! C'mon, we're outta here. Chen, you can get your sister real quickly." Tenshinhan said.

"Hold it, what about my son?" Vegeta said.

"Vegeta, I'm sorry but we don't have time to look, we have no clue where him or Piccolo's bodies." Tenshinhan insisted. Meanwhile the earthquakes intensified. In the distance mountain ranges crumbled while columns of lava began to erupt. "There's nothing more we can do."

As he looked on, Vegeta could only reluctantly agree. Chen quickly recovered his sister's body from the ground below and they quickly departed in Yoshuro's ship.

"Well, that wasn't satisfying at all!" Cerion said to herself. _I have no clue where the Power Stone disappeared to, leaving me with a dangerous weapon on the loose anywhere._ Sighing, she activated her ship's teleportation device and within a moment she was back in the Skylight. Her return startled Sulfus.

"Cerion! Are you okay? The planet looks like it's going to explode." He said anxiously as he rushed to her side.

"Um… Yes, I'm okay. And yes, it's going to explode so we need to get out of here." She stated as she stared at him in curiosity. _Was that concern?_ "What about yourself, are you alright?" That brought Sulfus' current situation back to the front of his mind and his anxious expression was now replaced by a frown.

"Yes, I'm fine! Just wondering what you were up to this time, that's all." he replied coolly. Cerion sighed.

"Alright… let's go."

Cerion got at the helm of the ship and briskly the Skylight sped away from Mesata while all around the remaining Jubian ships were also dispersing as quickly as possible. Soon after, the planet's fracturing shell finally erupted in a single final explosion, projecting lava and rocks in all directions, as well as a small, conspicuous red ball of energy.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

_Ugh, I should know better than to come to a hospital with a drink in me!_ Tenshinhan thought acidly as he walked through the corridors of Heder's biggest hospital. Late as it was, the complex was soothingly quiet._ Then again, if I can think straight, I'm not that drunk, am I?… Meh, maybe Lunch was right when she said I needed to loosen up!_

No matter how hard he tried to shake it off, Tenshinhan couldn't help but feel inadequate in the face of the previous day's pyrrhic victory. Dudan was defeated but at the cost of Lulu, Piccolo and Trunks' lives. Thousands more civilians and soldiers had died in the fighting and Mesata was now nothing more than an asteroid field. Furthermore, Gohan had almost lost his sanity. _Things were always easier with Goku and Piccolo around. But now what?_ The Triclops wondered. As he rounded a corner, he spotted a familiar figure looking out a window and approached him.

"Hey Vegeta!" Tenshinhan called out. He got no response. "Vegeta." Again, no answer from the Prince. Tenshinhan sighed. "Don't worry. When we get back home, we'll bring Trunks back to life. We all did what we had to to protect other people, complete strangers. You can be proud of your son… and of yourself as well. You fought well."

Still with no response, Tenshinhan decided to leave Vegeta alone in his thoughts. _Guess it must still be sinking in._ After a few minutes, he finally made his way to a specific room in the hospital. When he entered, Tenshinhan found Gohan in his hospital bed reading from another one of Chen's books on the civilization. He also saw Android 18 sprawled from a nearby chair, her head against Gohan's bed. Gohan made a gesture to shush the Triclops as he stepped in the room.

"Don't wake her up." The Saiyan said softly.

"Not likely. She's been watching over you for hours now." Tenshinhan replied chuckling. "She was worried sick over you. When did you get up by the way?"

"Really? Wow, I guess I do feel slightly better having her watch over me. I just woke up a while ago, I don't know how long… Man, I remember how much it hurt when the Power Stone's energy hit me and then I felt lost. It was all a mess in my head until I heard Piccolo and my father's voices. They must be close… Uh, why are you grinning like an idiot?"

"Oh, absolutely no reason at all! But I suggest you talk to Android 18 to know what happened." Tenshinhan said, smirking.

"Unnhh… someone say my name?" a groggy Android inquired 18 as she slowly woke up, her cheeks slightly blushing. "I didn't fall asleep, did I?"

"You sure did." Gohan said, laughing gently.

"Oh, this is embarrassing!"

"Ha, don't sweat it!" Tenshinhan laughed before taking a serious tone. "By the way, Gohan, I wanted to ask you something… You think there's something we're not getting in this whole adventure? Like something bigger than us is up?"

"I don't know…" Gohan started before pausing himself. "Actually, that woman I was fighting seemed pretty strange. I got the feeling that she wasn't working on Dudan's side."

"Oh, how come?" The Triclops asked.

"Because she said she wanted me to kill him."

"Well I guess that'd be a dead ringer." 18 added sarcastically.

"Yeah, I guess so… Cerion was her name. She said she didn't want Dudan to get the Power Stone and that I was the only one that could beat him." Gohan said, and then turned his gaze downward. "As a matter of fact, she seemed to know a lot about me. My life, what we do back home… She told I'm some sort of god."

"A god?" Tenshinhan inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she talked about random mutations and stuff that can happen to every species. That's supposed to make my Saiyan powers stronger and give me more powers too but I'm not developed. So she said she'd take me 'under her wing' to train me after our fight."

"And if you refused to be trained?"

"That I'd be killed because she doesn't want rival gods." The boy stated.

"That wench…" 18 muttered angrily.

"And then what?" Tenshinhan questioned.

"Well, we felt Piccolo, Trunks and Lulu being beaten by Dudan and Cerion told me to win for them. Then she released me and disappeared, saying something about 'recovering a fire-breathing lizard'. Then I came to find you guys fighting with Dudan and… well." Gohan finished.

"Heh, well that's interesting." Tenshinhan wondered aloud. "I knew something was up but now we're left with new questions. And there's no telling what this 'Cerion' is up to. If anything I bet she'll try to get at you again."

"There's no way I'm letting her do anything to you for any reason!" 18 spat.

"Thanks, 18! I appreciate it." Gohan said gently, causing the Android to blush slightly at her outburst.

"Um, no problem."

"Well, no use worrying about it now." Tenshinhan put in, smiling. "I just wanted to check up on you guys. After all tomorrow's a big day and I can't always be watching you. I trust you can keep an eye out for each other?"

"Sure, I'll always watch out for the kid." 18 said smiling as she rubbed Gohan's head.

Tenshinhan wished them good night as he left the room. _Maybe they can be a positive influence on each other._

The next day was a sober day for the Z squad. An entire civilization mourned the loss of one of its greatest defenders. Numerous people, including her brother, eulogized Lulu. With the remainder of his family gathered too, Chen spoke of the loss of his sister in battle after that of his father, the loss of an incredible role model and confidant and his family's continuing commitment to protecting all free peoples of the galaxy, not just Jubians. His voice cracked a few times when he referenced personal memories involving his sister. Vegeta faced down his own pain when the Jubians honoured the memory of Trunks, as well Piccolo. His face remained an immovable stone but his eyes couldn't hide his hurt. Meanwhile, the reality of losing his mentor and his best friend struck Gohan. He shed a few tears giving a speech about his friends and the need to watch over freedom but otherwise maintained a brave face. It wasn't until after he was safe from the public eye that Gohan collapsed into Android 18's arms, letting his tears flow freely. 18 hugged him back tightly. She didn't say anything but Tenshinhan could feel her mind silently weeping for three friends she didn't get to know better. The Triclops felt depressed how the day went. _If Goku was here, he'd know what to do._ Still he resolved to be there for his friends.

The day, and then the night, passed and it was time for the Z Squad to leave. Chen took the time to thank them for their help and their friendship and then they were off, returning home thanks to Yoshuro. The first few hours of the flight went by quietly, punctuated by a few discussions.

"Hmmm, home…" 18 wondered aloud, arousing Gohan's curiosity.

"What's up?"

"I don't know, it feels like I don't want this 'trip' to end just yet." She said. "I mean, it feels different to spend time with you guys… and, er, stuff." 18 mumbled the last part, still self-conscious of her growing attachment.

"Hehe, that's cool. I know what you mean, it's like we're one family." Gohan chuckled back. "Plus I got all this cool stuff from Chen. A couple of books and disks on the Jubians, I'd love to find out about the whole galaxy if I could!"

"Hey brat!" Vegeta called out, to Gohan's slight annoyance. "Does any of this junk carry information on the Kosajin?" Tenshinhan looked on in curiosity. _Freezer's race if I remember?_

"No, nothing on them specifically." Gohan stated. "Why?"

"Nothing, brat. Never mind!" The Prince huffed.

"I have a name, you know!" The boy retorted.

"You worked with Freezer, right?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Not worked, you stupid Human. I had no choice, I was a prisoner and slave! I just wanted to know if there's more of that filth in the galaxy, that's all." Vegeta countered.

"Maybe we could do something about this." Tenshinhan mused before turning to the Jubian pilot. "Yoshuro, you know where the Kosajin live?"

"Hmmm? Yes, the Jubians have commercial ties with a lot of people, including the Kosajin. Why?"

"Can you take us there?"

"WHAT?" Vegeta yelled.

"What for, Tenshinhan?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, what you got in mind?" Android 18 added.

"Well, none of you want to go home right away, right?" Tenshinhan explained. "There's a lot we don't know and we won't have time to do afterwards. There's a lot more to this universe than we know, maybe this could be a good occasion to learn. Plus, you know we never really stick together. We can spend some more time together and get along…"

"We can also drive each other crazy and kill each other in a murderous bloodlust." Gohan added cheerily.

"Um, yes Gohan… And we can learn about Freezer's race. Even Vegeta doesn't know about them and maybe he could benefit some peace of mind from it. That is, if you guys want to go of course. What do you say?" Tenshinhan added.

"Not interested!" Vegeta stated.

"So we can all do group therapy on the Prince? Where do I sign up?" Android 18 chirped. Vegeta groaned.

"I want in!" Gohan raised his hand in excitement.

"I get to go on an adventure! Voting's four to one, so we're set for Kosajin space!" Yoshuro pronounced grinning.

"Ugh, well I suppose there could worse things than being stuck with you guys…" Vegeta whined.

Tenshinhan smiled gently. He wasn't sure what they'd find or what they'd do. Or maybe they'd regret it later. But for now he was satisfied that they could get along. _I guess Goku would've done something like this. Then again, I'm not Goku…_

CONCLUSION 

And so this concludes Quest for Power: The Warlord. The Z Squad has completed another big adventure. But now they're on the trail of the race of King Cold, Freezer and Cooler. Exactly what will they find? Where did Sulfus and Cerion go to? Speaking of Cooler, what is he up to in the afterlife now? And the lives of the Kosajin (or how I imagine Freezer's race to be like) are looked into, along with an important upstart character. The Quest for Power series continues in Quest for Power 2: Challenge Kingdom. I hope y'all enjoyed this and see you soon for more!!!

Konrad

P.S. Don't forget to drop a review and let me know how you feel!


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Dragon Ball Z, Adventure